The Impossible Maze
by shiiki
Summary: Annabeth Chase has finally gotten her chance to lead a quest: she and her friends must navigate the Labyrinth and in its twist and turns she must not only confront the Titan army's monsters, but her own fears, hopes, and scariest of all, her developing feelings for her best friend. An alternate PoV retelling of BotL. Part IV of Daughter of Wisdom (Full summary inside.) *COMPLETE*
1. My Flight Skills Are Put To The Test

**Summary:** Annabeth Chase has finally gotten her chance to lead a quest, but the stakes have never been so high. With war on the horizon, she and her friends must navigate the Labyrinth to find its creator and convince him to help Camp Half-Blood. But the Labyrinth is more than just a physical maze—in its twist and turns, Annabeth must not only confront the Titan army's monsters, but her own fears, hopes, and scariest of all, her developing feelings for her best friend. An alternate PoV retelling of _The Battle of the Labyrinth._

 **A/N** : Wow, can you believe we've made it to book four already? I know some of you have been waiting for this one for a while, and I really hope it won't disappoint! HUGE thank you to my faithful readers, in particular **strawberrygirl2000** , **CupcakeQueen816** , and **Hello** for years (no seriously wow!) of cheerleading this series _every single week_. You guys are the best, and I would not have got this far with Annabeth's story without you. This one is really for you.

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Chapter 1: My Flight Skills Are Put To The Test

San Francisco looked like a Lego city.

From my vantage point of twenty-thousand feet in the air, the buildings were miniature blocks sprawling across the western edge of California. Even the Golden Gate Bridge was just a red smear across the bay, the cars trundling across it no bigger than my stepbrothers' toys. In my Sopwith Camel (well, technically it belonged to my dad), I had a 360-degree view of the Bay Area, from Napa all the way down to Palo Alto, with Alcatraz Island perched like a glowering orc in the middle of the bay. On the opposite side of the Golden Gate Bridge, Mount Tamalpais rose forbiddingly into the sky.

Okay, so there was one spot that remained out of my aerial viewpoint. Half of Mount Tam was shrouded in heavy fog, its peak disappearing into dark clouds. Even on a clear day, the residents of Marin County never got a break. Meteorologists had speculated on this strange phenomenon all year, suggesting everything from pressure systems to climate change as an explanation. But I knew the real reason behind the perpetual bad weather.

The storm clouds had been there since last winter, when the Titans had reclaimed the mountain as their home base, Mount Othrys. Their army general, the devious giant Atlas, was trapped under the sky at the tip of the mountain, but this was only a small setback for their leader, Kronos. The Titan lord, despite being a jumble of cut-up pieces in a golden coffin at the moment, had been working through my friend Luke for years. Once my dearest friend and only family, Luke had turned against our parents, the gods, and begun recruiting for Kronos, preparing for an all-out war on Olympus. It was almost certain that their opening volley would be on the Long Island training camp for demigods like me and my best friend, Percy. Our mentor, Chiron, was convinced the attack would come this summer. The only question was how.

But the last time I'd seen Luke …

I stared at the billowing columns of fog and cloud obscuring Mount Tam. I'd tried to scout it all semester, without success. Every time I got near, it would send me in the wrong direction, or the fog would thicken until I had no choice but to land. It was unlikely that I'd get any further today. Still, I banked my plane, turning around to face the mountain. In my mind, I pictured Luke standing on my doorstep, pleading …

It hadn't even been a week ago. Maybe he _had_ left.

One last try. It would be my last chance to find out anything about the Titans. Tomorrow, I would return to camp, on the other side of the country. I wanted something concrete to report to Chiron and the other counsellors. And if Luke really had run away like he'd intended to …

I had to know.

Steeling myself for the turbulence ahead, I set a course for Mount Tam.

I'd flown up enough times this year so I knew what to expect. I was prepared for the swirling fog that surrounded me the moment I crossed the invisible line where the Mist kicked in, hiding all magical activity from mortal eyes. This time, it billowed up around me in columns of black cloud, like solid walls trapping me in a narrow passage. I turned up the Camel's spotlights as brightly as they would go. It was like flying through a dark, twisting tunnel—an aerial maze.

Ahead of me, the tunnel forked. I banked to the left. My spotlights illuminated something at the end of the passage: a rock face with a sharp drop-off.

I gripped my control yoke tightly. This was it. I was in.

It was definitely the cliff of Mount Tam. I'd been there last winter. As I got closer, I spotted three tiny figures on the cliff. Three people standing at the edge, who looked like …

My stomach swooped as though my plane had gone into a sudden dive.

One of the figures had dark, spiky hair. The air around her crackled like she was charged with electricity. She reached out and pushed one of her companions, a sandy-haired boy with a thin scar running diagonally over his right eye.

Luke. And the girl was our friend Thalia. But they couldn't possibly be here. Thalia was a Hunter now—the leader of the immortal band of teenage girls who served the goddess Artemis. And this scene had already played out last winter. I'd been there, watching Luke and Thalia fight on the mountain peak. I'd screamed when Luke had fallen …

There. I spotted myself, the last of the trio on the cliff. But it was all wrong. I looked about seven years old, the age I'd first met Thalia and Luke.

What was going on?

Luke toppled off the side of the cliff. The bottom was only about fifty feet down, but I couldn't see it. The entire base of the mountain was obscured by more black fog, so thick that it formed a churning ocean. Luke sank through it in slow motion.

'Luke!' It was the high, clear scream of a child. _My_ voice.

Thalia flung out a rope. It flashed bright blue into the dark chasm where Luke was drowning. The free end looped around his shoulders, holding him fast. We tugged on the rope, heaving him up.

'Stay with us!' Thalia yelled. 'Hang on, Luke!'

Bit by bit, we reeled him back onto the clifftop. As I watched myself pull, I could almost feel the rope in my hands instead of my yoke. It chafed against my palms, but I didn't let go.

Then _I_ was the one falling. My cockpit dissolved. I plummeted through darkness …

Strong arms caught me. I found myself clinging to Luke's neck, sobbing.

We were at the top of the mountain—no, wait, this was a hill. One that I knew like the back of my hand. The pine tree that had been Thalia for six years stretched towards the sky. Lightning crackled above it. Rain poured down on me and Luke. A hazy barrier rose like smoke from the ground.

Luke's arms were tight around me, almost as if he were clutching me as a lifeline instead of offering me one. _'It's okay, Annabeth. There's still me,'_ he murmured. _'I'm your family.'_

I raised my tear-streaked face to him. _'You promise?'_

 _'Promise,'_ he said. _'I'm your family always.'_

 _Promise …_

The word echoed in my ears. My skin tingled.

Luke let go. I tumbled away from him, free-falling through the air again. This time I landed hard in the seat of my cockpit. My nose was against the instrument panel, like I'd fainted mid-flight. I jerked my head up, trying to get my bearings.

The spotlights had gone out. It would have been pitch-black if not for my dagger, balancing on my consoles. I couldn't remember if I had placed it there, but I must have. Its Celestial bronze blade gave off a faint glow. By its light, I found my controls and switched on the spotlights just in time to see a thick, threatening wall rise up in front of me.

My plane smashed into it.

But it was only wind and cloud. It buffeted me from all directions, tossing my plane from side to side like a dog with a rag doll. I gritted my teeth and did my best to hold the Camel steady through the turbulence.

And then I was clear. The maze of clouds spat me out over the San Francisco Bay, in a nose dive towards its choppy waters. I pulled up frantically, before I ended up making an emergency water landing. That sort of thing might be no problem for my friend Percy, the son of Poseidon, but children of Athena didn't have special water-bending powers. Or any magic at all. I just had to rely on my wits.

It took a while to get the Camel under control. By the time I got back on a steady course, Mount Tam was a distant black smear against the horizon.

I headed back north, but only to land the plane at Crissy Field. The sun had come out on my side of the Golden Gate Bridge, but the thunderclouds continued to sit, undeterred, over the mountain. Arching across the bay, cutting over the bridge to divide Marin County and the city, was a brilliant rainbow. It made me wonder if the whole thing had been an IM—a message sent through the rainbow goddess Iris's communication network.

But I couldn't think who would have sent me a message like this. It wasn't like any IM I'd ever received. And the only people who kept in regular contact with me over the school year were Chiron and Percy. I'd only just IM-ed the former yesterday to arrange my return to camp. The latter … well, I meant to tell him I was on my way to Long Island, but it seemed easier to do that once I actually got to New York.

Anyway, this couldn't have come from Percy. He wouldn't send me a message about Luke. He hated Luke.

Besides, the whole thing felt more like a dream. Demigod dreams are often like mysterious, encrypted messages. Lately, mine had been even more so, full of Labyrinthine paths, doorways, and crossroads—not unlike the maze of clouds I'd just flown through.

I got on the bus for home, the afterimage of my vision still playing at the forefront of my mind. My palms felt raw from pulling on the rope securing Luke, although there were no visible blisters or callouses. A thin, blue string danced in the corners of my eyes, flashing a line that led away from the city. I could not say why, but I was certain it would lead me to Luke. Where he'd gone, I couldn't say either, but he wasn't with Kronos's monsters on Mount Tam.

This might have given me hope, except my cryptic vision must have been trying to tell me something about Luke as well. Which meant that despite what he'd said when I'd last seen him, he was still—

The bus jerked abruptly to a stop, sending my face smacking into the seat in front of me. The magical blue line vanished. Rubbing my nose, I looked out the window. What I saw made me groan.

Bursting out of the Target on Geary and Masonic was a herd of hippogriffs.

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 **A/N** : HAPPY BIRTHDAY PERCY! Unfortunately he doesn't get an appearance yet, but he'll be showing up soon enough. Yes, I know this is a short chapter. Anyone can guess what the vision was all about, though? *wink* Anyway, you guys know the drill by now, I'm sure—chapter updates every Saturday.

As always, please do let me know what you think of the story! Especially if you've been following silently this far, do consider hitting that little review button to say a few words. It's been about 300K words on my part already … don't leave me hanging!


	2. I Play Baseball With Hippogriffs

Chapter 2: I Play Baseball With Hippogriffs

It wasn't the first time I'd run into monsters in San Francisco. The city had always been the most dangerous place in the country for demigods, even before Mount Othrys had settled here. Mount Tam was the modern Mountain of Despair, where Atlas held up the metaphorical sky. Its magic attracted monsters like flies. Now that it was Titan headquarters, even more monsters kept coming down to terrorise the city. They showed up on an almost weekly basis. I guess the Titan army just got tired of being cooped up on a mountain peak all the time. Or maybe they just needed supplies from Target.

Either way, if I could take out a few, that would be a few less to attack Camp Half-Blood this summer.

I got off the bus.

There were five hippogriffs, about the size of rhinoceroses, with equine hindquarters and proud griffin torsos. Strong, curved beaks protruded from their faces, which looked fully capable of snapping a demigod in half—if their nasty front talons didn't lacerate you first.

The lead hippogriff was decked out like a rapper, with long chain necklaces draped across its chest and a bling jacket thrown over its beak. A baseball cap perched backwards on its eagle-like head capped off this ghetto fashion statement. The other hippogriffs had pieces of Target merchandise on them as well: capes, shawls, blankets … one even sported an upturned stainless steel pot as a helmet.

The store's burglar alarms were blaring. Security officers chased after the hippogriffs. Possibly they looked like looters, or their getaway cars. I could never tell how the Mist distorted scenes for mortals. Pedestrians screamed and dove aside to avoid being trampled. Cars veered and screeched to a stop as the rampaging beasts strayed across their paths.

I sprinted after them. The hippogriffs ran straight into a baseball diamond, where a bunch of college kids were having evening practice. The lead hippogriff knocked over the batter, whose throw went wide.

'Strike one—hey, what the hell?' cried the umpire. The pitcher's ball hit one of the hippogriffs in the face. It stopped dead, swayed on the spot, then keeled over.

I didn't stop to think. I hurled my knife at the KO-ed hippogriff. The monster disintegrated into a pile of ash and feathers the moment the blade sank into its flesh. Its steel-pot helmet clattered to the ground.

Its companions all stopped and turned to the baseball team with murderous glares in their steely bird eyes.

The baseball players might not have known what they were seeing, but they knew they were in trouble. Dropping their mitts, they ran screaming for the exit.

'Hey, punk birds!' I yelled. Five raptor-like heads swivelled to face me.

The good thing was, I'd distracted them from the fleeing mortals. The bad thing: their attention was now fixated on _me._

And my knife was fifty feet away, buried in a pile of hippogriff feathers.

This was exactly why I always told Percy you should never go into battle without a plan. Too late for that now. I'd have to borrow a leaf from his book and improvise.

I dove for the discarded baseball bat and took a wild swing as the first hippogriff charged towards me. The clang of the metal bat against the monster's talons set my teeth rattling. Fortunately, the bat stayed intact. I'd never played baseball before, but maybe I should start. These bats made pretty decent weapons.

I ducked and rolled to avoid the next incoming hippogriff. This one ploughed head-on into its friend when I rolled out of their way. Its momentum carried them both to the tip of the baseball diamond, where they lay groaning on their sides.

The third hippogriff nearly gored me with its beak. The sharp point ripped a hole in my jeans. I swung blindly at it and missed. But the hippogriff's dodge took it straight into the netting behind the batter's oval. While it struggled to free itself, I turned my attention to the last hippogriff. This one was the leader, with all its bling, and it hadn't charged with the others. Instead, it was sizing me up with its beady eyes, possibly strategising the best way to kill me. When it actually attacked, I'd be in serious trouble.

So I made the first move. Grabbing one of the baseballs from the full basket by the pitcher's plate, I tossed it up and slammed my bat into it. The ball flew towards the hippogriff with blinding speed. I hoped it would connect with the beast's hide, but the hippogriff clenched its powerful hind quarters and launched itself into the air.

A shadow fell over me. Wings the size of my Sopwith Camel blotted out the sun.

Of course—the cursed things could _fly._

And the other hippogriffs were stirring.

I dashed to first base, where I'd stabbed the first hippogriff. The flying leader came at me with a loud screech. I snatched up my dagger and kept running on to second. There, the hippogriffs that had head-butted finally raised their heads and shook them groggily.

I jumped one from behind and stabbed it in the butt before it could react. The other snarled and swiped at me. I dodged and swung. My knife connected.

Three down.

The flying hippogriff landed and chased me to third base. I used the base plate to make a sharp right-angle turn. Feathers rushed past me as the angry hippogriff charged straight on, not expecting my sudden change in direction.

I ran for home base. The hippogriff tangled in the pitcher's net was now ripping it to shreds. It was going to free itself before I could get to it.

I hurled my knife again, landing another stick in this hippogriff's hide. But I didn't stop to watch it disintegrate. My eyes were on the home plate—or more precisely, the bat lying next to it.

I slid home and snatched up the bat just as the last, bling-wearing hippogriff caught up to me. Its baseball cap was askew and its bling jacket all muddy. This only seemed to feed its fury.

I swung the bat as hard as I could.

The hippogriff cawed mockingly as it swerved out of my way. _Swing and a miss!_ it seemed to be taunting. Its talons dug into the dirt where I'd flung my blade into its last comrade. Bronze flashed through the air.

I gasped. Dropping the bat, I launched myself at the hippogriff just before it could abscond with my precious dagger. My fingers closed around feathers and one of the chain necklaces dangling from the hippogriff's chest. With a jerk, my feet left the earth.

The hippogriff's enormous wings beat the air, carrying me aloft. The chain was seriously heavy duty, as it didn't snap in my grip. Maybe the hippogriff had stolen it from the hardware section.

It wasn't easy to pull myself onto the hippogriff's back. It bucked and twisted, but somehow I crawled my way up between its wings. I tugged on the chain around its neck as if it were the control yoke on my plane. The hippogriff made a strangled noise and climbed higher.

No, I needed it to land. I knew what to do if it were a plane, but the chain made a poor substitute for a joystick. I slackened my grip. The hippogriff levelled off, but didn't descend.

Then I had a brainwave. I reached forward, swiped the baseball cap from the hippogriff's head, and flung it towards the earth.

It worked. With a murderous cry, the hippogriff dove for its falling cap. We sped towards the ground, straight at the red-and-white Target sign. The hippogriff's talons curled up under its belly to give it a more aerodynamic shape for the dive.

Bingo.

I gripped the hippogriff's hide as firmly as I could with my thighs and leaned to the left, reaching, reaching … stretching my hand just a little further …

My fingers closed around my blade.

Ignoring the pain as the sharp edge sliced into my palm, I wrenched it out of the hippogriff's slackened talons.

It was not a second too soon. The hippogriff's talons stretched forward and opened to snatch up its falling cap. But we were coming in too hot. Unable to pull up in time, the hippogriff crashed through the window of the megastore, straight into the electronics department.

We landed in a pile of broken glass and smashed television sets. Employees screamed. Customers fainted. A _SPECIAL OFFER: $99.99_ sign fluttered from the ceiling and landed on the hippogriff's butt.

I flipped my dagger into my good hand and plunged it into the hippogriff's hide, right next to the discount sign. It disintegrated beneath me, scattering hippogriff feathers around the broken televisions. I tumbled to the floor in front of an emergency exit door. The exit light glowed green. Below it, just above the door frame, was a triangular symbol cast in a radioactive-looking blue light. I'd seen this symbol before: the Greek letter _Delta._

Before I could examine it more closely, store security came barging onto the floor.

Crap. I wasn't just covered in monster ashes and feathers. I was also draped in the hippogriff's stolen bling, with its baseball cap lying by my feet.

I sighed and raised my hands in surrender.

On the up side, I got a free ride home. On the down side, it was in the back of a squad car. My stepmother opened the door when the officers rang the doorbell. She already looked annoyed; I was late for dinner as it was. When she saw the uniformed cops flanking me, the temperature seemed to drop ten degrees, the way it did when you walked into the dodgier city districts. Her lips pursed so tightly, you could barely see the thin line they made across her face.

Fortunately, I had managed to get through the last school semester without any major incidents, so the cops were willing to let me go with only a warning. They nodded to my stepmother and left her to deal with me.

'You're hurt,' Janet said sharply.

Uh …' My hand clenched reflexively over my palm. I'd wrapped it in my t-shirt during the ride home to stem the bleeding. 'It's nothing. Blade slipped.'

Janet pressed her lips together again. 'Let's put something on it anyway.'

She helped me clean and dress the wound in the kitchen, where my stepbrothers had already started eating.

'Was it monsters, Annabeth?' Bobby's eyes were wide with awe. He and Matthew thought my tussles with monsters was the height of cool, like the judo-fighting spy in their favourite cartoon.

'Yeah,' I said, and told them about the hippogriffs at Target.

'Neat!' Matthew said.

Janet closed her eyes like she was counting to ten, the way she often did when we tried her patience.

'So you _went_ after these … hippogriffs,' she said.

I winced. 'It wasn't like I was _trying_ to get framed for shoplifting. The monsters ran out in front of my bus and—'

'You thought jumping into a fight was the right idea.' Janet's voice had a sharp edge to it. 'I can understand it when you're attacked, Annabeth, but to go _looking_ for trouble—'

'I wasn't looking for trouble!' I jumped to my feet. 'Lu—the Titans are building an army! I have to do everything I can to stop them!'

'Yes, you've said.' Her tone turned icy. 'Including throwing your whole future away.'

We stared furiously at each other. Bobby and Matthew busied themselves with their food. They knew better than to draw their mother's attention when she got like this.

I knew where this argument was headed. It wasn't about the cops after all … or at least, it was only tangentially connected to them. Janet and I had been getting along better this year—she'd even helped me with school—but last month, we had a tiff about where I was going for high school. She'd pushed me to try for the most prestigious design school in the state, and I'd gotten in … only to turn it down. I'd chosen to forego their compulsory summer induction programme so that I could return to camp.

I guess I could sort of see her point of view. But it wasn't like I didn't _want_ to go to architectural design school. Camp just needed me more.

'This isn't wise, Annabeth. You're a smart girl. You could be more than just—'

My fingers balled into fists. 'My mother is the goddess of wisdom. Don't tell me I'm not being wise.'

I stalked out of the kitchen. In the hallway, I ran into my dad, who had just come through the front door.

'Annabeth? What—'

I pushed past him and stomped upstairs to my room, leaving Janet to explain what had just transpired. I threw myself on my bed and glared at the ceiling.

Not wise, indeed. Did she think I'd made any of my choices lightly?

Well, it didn't matter what Janet or anybody else thought. I'd be on my way back to camp tomorrow, to prepare for a battle that was coming whether any of us liked it or now. And nobody there would tell me I'd made the wrong choice.

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 **A/N** : Thank you SO MUCH all you guys who dropped in last week to leave me a comment on chapter 1. I'm astounded by the response; it must be the first time I've ever received over 10 comments in such a short time. I've done my best to reply to each one (if you don't have PM functions enabled, check the forum link on my profile, I'll have made a reply thread for you), but I just want to say again: **Hello, Guest, randomstories7777, timbo8, JustAnotherGlowingUnicorn, MariaClaire, JustADerangedFanGirl, Numberfivewithabullet, CupcakeQueen816, strawberrygirl2000, Athenachild101, TheChasm, keelsxoxo, OverLordRevan,** and **MiraEstrellas** , thanks so so much for your enthusiasm for this story. It makes it so much more fun kicking off and sharing it at last!


	3. I Trip Up Some Giants

Chapter 3: I Trip Up Some Giants

My bag was packed with everything I needed for camp. I waited on the front porch of my house, next to my dad and Janet, for my ride to show. They had insisted on seeing me off, although I'd told them (a little frostily in Janet's case) there was no need.

'I would've been happy to fly you over there, you know,' my dad said.

'I know, but you still have lectures tomorrow. Besides, Chiron already arranged everything.' I tried to sound confident, though I wasn't sure what transportation he'd organised. In our Iris-message several days ago, he had just said someone would pick me up. If I were to guess, I'd say he'd corralled some of his Party Pony relatives to gallop me cross-country. Centaurs travelled fast enough that they could manage the three-thousand-mile journey within a day.

The last person—or immortal—I expected to turn up was my mother.

She strolled right up California Street, dressed in a smart grey business suit that matched both our eyes. My dad's jaw dropped when he saw her. It was probably the first time they'd crossed paths since she'd left a baby on his doorstep fifteen years ago.

'A-Athena?'

'Frederick,' she said calmly.

Janet's eyes narrowed. Her fingers tightened around my dad's arm, as though she were worried Athena might suddenly snatch him away.

'Mom, what are you doing here?' I asked.

'Delivering you to camp, of course.'

' _You're_ taking Annabeth to Long Island?' Janet's sceptical tone had an abrasiveness that she usually reserved for door-to-door salesmen.

I glared at her. Aside from the fact that this was my _mother_ she was being rude to, Athena was a goddess. Immortals didn't tolerate disrespect well. I might not be too pleased with Janet at the moment, but I didn't want her turned into a Gorgon or a spider—both of which Athena was quite capable of.

'Yes.' A hint of a smile played on Athena's enigmatic face as she considered Janet. 'I will ensure she gets there safely, of course. I assume that is your primary concern.'

Janet's eyes darted to my father. When she saw the way he was looking at Athena, with a sort of wistful longing on his face, she stepped between them and crossed her arms. 'I must say—Athena, is it?'

'That's right.' Was that _amusement_ I heard in my mother's voice?

'Well, I understand that your, er, worldview is somewhat different from ours,' Janet said, lifting her chin. 'But surely you realise the disruption this causes for Annabeth in terms of her academics?'

'Janet, stop!' I said. 'I'm going to camp, okay? Dad, tell her!'

My father scratched his ear. 'Um, we've been over this, dear,' he faltered.

Janet rounded on him. 'Frederick, at some point we need to put our feet down, as parents—'

'You're not—' I began hotly.

Athena held up a hand. 'Mrs Chase, I appreciate your concern for my daughter. And I thank you for having her best interests at heart. But she is a demigod. And I am afraid that there are other things she must worry about besides which high school she should go to next year. In fact, the fate of the world may one day rest upon her shoulders.'

Janet fell silent. I wasn't sure if Athena had literally stayed her tongue. She was glaring mutinously at Athena, though that could just be because my dad had taken my mom's side.

'I don't understand a lot of it,' he admitted, 'but I know Annabeth has to go.'

'Thanks, Dad.' I hugged him.

He squeezed me back. 'Don't forget to write.'

I picked up my duffel bag, ready to follow Athena. To my surprise, Janet grabbed my arm. Even more surprisingly, she leant in and kissed my cheek.

'Stay safe, Annabeth.'

I nodded. 'I—I really have to do this.'

She gave Athena another look full of misgivings, and sighed. 'We'll work something out.'

'Come,' Athena said. 'Walk with me.'

I followed her down the street towards the Golden Gate Park. 'How are we getting to camp?'

Athena didn't answer the question. 'She isn't a bad woman, your stepmother,' she mused. 'A little narrow-minded, perhaps, but then, mortals rarely have sufficient foresight to understand the big picture.'

'She said it wasn't wise for me to fight in a war.'

'From an individual standpoint, I concede the point,' Athena said. 'This war is dangerous for every demigod involved. Yourself, your friend Luke …' She looked at me sternly. I gulped, wondering if she knew about his last visit to me. 'And your friend Percy Jackson. I have not changed my counsel to my father Zeus about him, you know.'

An old flare of anger sparked inside me. Last winter, my mom had basically told the gods that it might be wiser to kill my best friend because a prophecy said he could destroy Olympus when he turned sixteen.

'You are still angry on his behalf,' Athena observed. 'Just as your stepmother is, on yours. Although I expect her jealousy doesn't help matters.'

I squirmed a little. The image of Janet and Athena fighting over my dad wasn't one I needed or wanted.

'Mortals,' Athena sighed. 'You live very much in the present. It was this way with my foster son, Erichthonius. I had every intention of making him a god, but his caretakers removed him from his confines, thinking to give him freedom in the present. Of course, that spoilt everything. But he did still have the godly gifts of his father, and my blessing, so his life wasn't entirely ruined, even if he could never enter Olympus. He fathered a long line of kings, all extraordinarily gifted. I quite enjoyed my time with each of them.' Her expression grew soft. 'I had many children in his line. Erechteus … Daedalus …'

My eyes widened. 'You mean—' I made a face. Athena, being a virgin goddess, didn't actually conceive children the normal way. That still didn't mean I wanted to imagine her with what was technically her grandson.

Even if most of Greek mythology was much more incestuous.

Athena saw the look on my face. 'Olympus, child, hasn't your father told you how you were conceived?'

'Mom, gross!'

'I hardly think so,' Athena said, a little huffily. 'You know the story of my own conception, don't you?'

Of course I did. Everyone knew that she'd sprung from Zeus's head, fully-formed, after he had swallowed her mom. 'Do you mean—'

'You are quite literally a brain child, my dear.' She smiled. 'That is your legacy.'

My hand drifted to my stomach, where I could feel the little indent of my bellybutton. I'd never really thought much about the circumstances of my birth before. I knew I'd been delivered by Zephyros, the West Wind, to my father's doorstep in a golden cradle, but I just assumed I'd been born the usual way.

Had my umbilical cord been attached to my mom's _brain?_

This was getting really weird. I was glad when we reached the park, where a chariot was waiting, hitched to a team of solemn owls. I'd heard of my mom's owl-drawn chariot before, but this was my first time seeing it in person.

'They will take you to camp,' Athena said. 'And you will bring Chiron a message from me.'

'You're not coming?'

Athena shook her head. 'My duties lie elsewhere. You must tell Chiron this: the Titans are operating underground. Without the help of my uncle, Hades, we will have little success in monitoring their movements.'

My heart dropped into my stomach. 'Has Hades joined the Titans, then?' I knew some of the minor gods had already defected. If the Lord of the Underworld had turned against Olympus, too …

'I do not believe so. He appears to have holed himself up in Erebus, walled away from the threat of war. Perhaps he is sulking because his brothers betrayed their oaths and he is now the only one of the three without a demigod child. He was always touchy about being left out.'

I fingered the beads on my camp necklace nervously. I knew for a fact that Hades _did_ have a demigod kid. He'd actually had two, except his daughter Bianca had died last winter. Nobody but Percy, me, and our friend Grover knew that her surviving brother, Nico di Angelo, was a child of the Underworld. Percy had made me promise not to tell anyone. He was afraid it would draw Kronos's attention to Nico if word of his parentage got out.

'At any rate,' Athena continued, 'Kronos's army is assembling quickly. A new Titan rises from Tartarus every other week. Aigaios and Oceanus are already stirring up trouble in the seas; my uncle Poseidon has been occupied for months. The ancient sea demons he once drowned with freshwater have returned to plague us, and I fear even more are on the loose. They will march on Long Island soon. Tell Chiron he must be prepared for war.'

My fingers tightened around the college ring on my necklace. It had been my father's—a graduation gift from my mother. She looked down at it.

'My child,' she said. 'There is much else I cannot say. But be warned. This summer will not be kind to my children in particular.'

My mouth went dry. 'What—what do you mean?' I twisted the ring. 'You said—you said something earlier, about the fate of the world …'

Athena touched the crown of my head. 'May wisdom be with you,' she said. 'You will need it to face the choices that lie ahead.'

I thought of two diverging paths in the darkness. Of Luke, standing on my doorstep, accusing me … _'You're choosing him,'_ he'd said.

If Athena sensed what I was thinking, she didn't comment on it. 'Go now,' she said, 'and remember my message.'

She glowed at the edges. I averted my eyes, knowing she was about to take her divine form. The next second, she vanished in a supernova, leaving me alone with the owl-drawn chariot.

It was a long flight to Long Island. I'd ridden godly chariots before; most recently it had been the Maserati sun chariot of Apollo, and before that, Artemis's moon chariot. My mother's ride was slower but steadier than both of those. We flew above the clouds to avoid being spotted by mortals, which meant I didn't have much of a view. I occupied myself looking for patterns in the clouds and drawing blueprints in my sketchbook.

It was nearly sunset when the familiar rise of Half-Blood Hill came into view. The tall pine tree that used to be Thalia was silhouetted against the sky. Slumbering at its foot was a large dragon with purple scales. Chiron had procured him to guard the Golden Fleece that hung from the boughs of the tree, keeping it vitalised and strengthening the magical camp borders. The last time I'd seen Peleus, he'd been half-grown. In the last month or two, he'd blossomed into a twelve-foot-long reptile.

A scream rent the air. My head turned immediately towards the sound, coming from the woods east of the property line. A trio of kids were running for the hill, chased by a pair of giants. From the hobbling gait of one of them, I guessed he was a satyr, escorting two new half-bloods to camp.

 _Trying_ to escort his charges to camp.

The giants had thick, hairy legs, beefy arms, and the ferocious heads of lions. Their strides were so long, they covered ten feet with each step. They were gaining on the half-bloods and their satyr. At this rate, they'd be on the kids a hundred yards before they got to the foot of Half-Blood Hill.

'We have to help them,' I told the owls. They descended obediently, heading straight for the lion-headed giants. I sized up the situation quickly. With two giants, it'd be useless to go after just one. I needed to take them both out with one shot.

I cast around for anything I could use. My knife wouldn't be enough. My Yankees cap could make me invisible, but that was pointless since nothing was after _me._ Short of ploughing my chariot straight into the giants, I had no other weapons. I tugged on the reins in frustration.

The _reins._

'Over there!' I urged the owls to a spot where two thick trees would obscure us from immediate view. I held the owls in check, hovering just above the trees until the kids and their satyr stumbled past.

'Now!' I loosened the reins as we dove so that they formed a long line across the pair of tree trunks. The owls twisted their ends around the far tree; I jumped from the chariot and grabbed a thick branch, looping my end of the reins around it.

The giants barrelled through the trees, straight into the trip line I'd formed. They fell flat on their lionish faces.

I let go of my lines and hit the ground running. The half-bloods and satyr, hearing the thud, looked over their shoulders in amazement.

'Keep running!' I yelled at them.

Together, we made it halfway up the hill by the time the lion-headed giants got back on their feet. Their roars were deafening. One of the half-bloods screamed and tripped. I caught her around the shoulder and chivvied her on.

'Almost there,' I promised.

The satyr reached the crest of Half-Blood Hill first and turned back to us. It gave me a striking sense of déjà-vu watching him dance nervously from hoof to hoof, urging us to hurry.

'Mitchell!' The girl I was practically dragging up the hill cried out. Her companion had fallen behind. The giants were gaining on him. I cursed and pushed her across the property line, then turned back for him.

A burst of fire erupted in the air in front of me. Peleus the dragon had gotten up. He spread his wings and took flight, spewing flames at the advancing giants. I dashed to Mitchell and pulled him forward. Together, we got over the property line, to the safety of the magical barrier.

One of the giants howled. His mane was on fire. He dropped to his knees and rolled all the way down to the bottom of the hill in an attempt to extinguish it. Peleus swooped after him.

The other giant ran up against the property line. The demigod girl screamed again, but the magical barrier held. The giant ran into the invisible wall and fell back. He swore so colourfully, I was tempted to cover the kids' ears with my hands. Though I guess if they spent any time around Ares cabin, they'd hear much worse by the end of summer.

The giant locked eyes on me. Recognition lit up his lionish face, even though I'd never seen him before. 'Curse you to Tartarus, daughter of Athena,' he spat. 'You got away this time, but we'll be back. Just you wait—by the end of summer, your pretty little camp will be crushed.'

'Dream on,' I told him. 'You'll never get past these barriers.'

'That's what you think,' the giant sneered. 'The pieces are almost in place. All we need is the final offering, and it will be the strongest of all. Tell your great hero Percy Jackson: Kronos is coming for him.'

With a final leer, he turned and lumbered off after his friend. Peleus came back and settled himself back at the foot of Thalia's tree. He gave a little snort, like, _all in a day's work,_ and went back to sleep.

I turned back to the satyr and the two half-bloods, trying to look less shaken than I felt. The satyr—I think his name was Woodrow—looked grateful. The boy and girl were staring at me in an almost worshipful manner.

'Are you okay?' I asked them.

'You—you saved us!' Mitchell squeaked.

'This is Annabeth,' Woodrow said. 'She's one of the camp counsellors. Annabeth, this is Mitchell and Lacy.'

I nodded to them. 'I guess you've had a rough journey here.'

Lacy gave a high, breathy laugh. 'You could say that.'

'You're safe now,' I promised.

'What did that lion-guy mean, they'll be back? How could they couldn't get to us now?' Mitchell asked.

I explained about the camp boundaries and the magical barrier that was maintained by the combined power of Thalia's pine and the Golden Fleece. Mitchell and Lacy listened in awe. They looked highly comforted to know that we had an anti-monster security system. It was a relief that the barriers still held against Kronos's minions, but the giant's parting words had me worried. It sounded as though they had an alternative plan.

I shivered. We had an inkling of what that plan might be, but we'd searched all spring for proof of it. There was still no indication that it was even possible.

What did the giant mean, _the pieces are almost in place?_ What was the final offering? And his threat— _tell Percy Jackson_ —it reminded me of something Luke had said to me when he'd sought me out last week: _'Percy Jackson keeps ruining his plans, but he won't stop until he gets what he wants.'_

I needed to talk to Chiron right away.

OoOoOoOoOoO

 **A/N** : Did you never wonder how Annabeth found out how she was 'born'? Somehow I don't think Frederick told her …

Thanks to **Hello, Thunderwolf7226, JustADerangedFanGirl, CQ816, SG2000, Athenachild101,** and **OverLordRevan** for your comments last chapter. I get really encouraged by your enthusiasm for this story!

And just a heads up—I'm going to be travelling for the next two weeks, one week for work ( _two_ conference presentations, oh woe) and one week for a long-awaited holiday. You guys know how committed I am to my posting schedule, so never fear, a chapter _will_ arrive next weekend (barring any emergencies), but I just can't be certain if it's going to be Saturday or Sunday.


	4. An Oversized Puppy Soils The Rug

**A/N** : Um ... surprise? I wasn't sure when I'd get the chance to post this weekend, but then I finished my conference presentation and had a few hours of wifi while I wait to get my train to Scotland, so you get this chapter early after all!

Chapter 4: An Oversized Puppy Soils The Rug

I let Woodrow take Mitchell and Lacy to get settled in the Hermes cabin while I went to find Chiron. The door to his office in the Big House was slightly ajar. I stopped outside it, my hand poised to knock, when I realised the voice wafting out into the hallway wasn't Chiron's.

'… a week late, but my mom's boyfriend got me into his high school, and there's this orientation thing on Friday.'

My heart did a happy somersault. I hadn't expected to find Percy in here already.

Then Chiron replied, 'I understand. That's fine. We'll expect you next Saturday. Will your mother be driving you, or will you need help getting here?'

The context of their words sank in. It was an Iris-message. And not only was Percy still at home, he was also going to arrive at camp late. Because of school.

Disappointment pooled in the pit of my stomach, followed by a seething pinch of annoyance. Percy didn't even _like_ school. Yet here he was, letting it get in the way. Didn't he understand how important it was for him to be here?

 _Tell your hero Percy Jackson: Kronos is coming for him._

I twisted the beads of my necklace in my fingers. Had Percy finally realised how dangerous this summer would be? He'd always wished he could be a normal kid. It was why he wouldn't stay year-round at camp the way Chiron wanted him to. But Percy was as _un_ -normal as a demigod could get. His dad was Poseidon, one of the Big Three gods who had broken a sacred, Styx-sworn oath when he sired Percy. Percy's parentage placed him directly in the path of a seventy-year-old prophecy, one that gave me the shivers every time I thought of it.

I wouldn't blame him for trying to avoid the prophecy, even if he still didn't know its full, gory details. But that wasn't really like Percy. He'd told me last winter he wanted to claim the prophecy. If a Big Three kid had to shoulder the responsibility of saving or destroying Olympus, Percy would step up. He wouldn't let Nico di Angelo draw the wrath of Kronos and risk being killed. He wouldn't let anyone else take the fall.

It made me both burst with pride and sick with fear. Percy had that way about him. Being his friend was like walking a perpetual tightrope between conflicting emotions. (Most of the time, the positive ones won.)

He'd never run away. He was just coming a bit late. Percy wouldn't abandon me—abandon _camp._

The door opened.

'Annabeth?' Chiron rolled back slightly. He was a centaur, but he often disguised himself as a wheelchair-use in order to pass among mortals—or fit in smaller spaces. 'How long have you been here?'

'Um, hi Chiron. Sorry, I should have knocked.'

'No matter. Come in, child. Have you just arrived?'

I nodded. 'Athena sent a message. And Woodrow just brought in two new campers.' I told him everything, from my mother's warnings to the lion-headed giants' parting threat.

Chiron tidied the pens and papers on his desk, although they were already quite neat to begin with. 'It will be a hard summer,' he said at last. He stared into the prism sitting at the centre of his desk.

'Were you—was that Percy you were talking to?' I asked, even though I already knew the answer.

Chiron's lips quirked, like he knew exactly why I was asking. 'Yes. He called to inform me he would be delayed. He is attending orientation at his new high school. It must not have been easy for his mother to find him a place for next year; Percy has had much trouble with schools in the past.'

I felt a twinge of guilt, thinking of the trouble Janet had gone to on behalf of my schooling—which I'd rejected. This was different, though. Percy was missing a week of camp. I'd have had to miss the entire summer if I'd agreed to the pre-sessional programme at design school.

'Perhaps you'd like to fetch him next week?' There was a twinkle in Chiron's eye.

'Me? You're … letting me leave camp?' There was a long-standing rule that campers could not leave without permission once the summer session began. Traditionally, that permission was only ever granted if a quest was issued.

'I believe I still have the power to do that, yes.' Chiron was definitely grinning now.

'But … why? I mean, yeah, I'd like that, but …'

'You can head into the city, have a nice afternoon … do some normal things. It will be good for you to take some time off.'

'Time off?'

Chiron patted my shoulder. 'I believe you will need it, my dear. This summer—well, your news confirms what I have feared for some time. Before this camp session ends, we will face a difficult battle. We must be ready. Burnt out soldiers make bad armies. And we will have much work to do this week.' He wheeled to the door and rose out of his chair, his equine hindquarters emerging from the hidden compartment in a series of clicks and snaps. 'On that note, we should assemble our first war council.'

We gathered in the sword-fighting arena: all the head counsellors, a few senior satyrs, Chiron, and a bearded man with grey hair whom I didn't know. It was just like any other start-of-session meeting, when Chiron usually gave out cabin duties and training assignments. I suspected this year's duties were going to be a lot more serious.

In light of the severity of our situation, I expected Mr D to be here. But the only adults were Chiron and the newcomer, who leant casually against a stack of bear-sized crates, polishing one of the training swords. The crates were all labelled with large red letters that looked like they'd been painted in blood: _TRIPLE G RANCH._ One of them rattled like whatever was inside wanted out. The newcomer rapped on the top with his knuckles and the creature inside settled down.

I took a seat next to Grover on one of the burlap sacks we used for lifting practice. He'd earned his searcher's license and the right to be at council meetings two summers ago. Right now, he wasn't looking too pleased. He barely looked at me, instead picking dejectedly at a can of tin shavings (typically his favourite snack, only he seemed too depressed to eat).

'What's wrong?' I asked him. 'Still no luck with Pan?'

Anyone else would have given up after two years of fruitless searching for the lost god of the wild—a god who hadn't been seen in two thousand years—but Grover firmly believed he was out there. If he could just find Pan, he'd be able to preserve nature and stop climate change and deforestation and all that.

Grover dropped his tin can in his lap. 'I keep hitting a dead end,' he moaned. 'And the Council of Cloven Elders are getting impatient. They're holding a hearing in a week to review my license!'

'But you're the first satyr who hasn't died or disappeared on the search! That's got to count for something.'

'They don't believe what I said about hearing him last winter,' Grover said. 'They—'

Chiron banged his hoof against the floor, calling us to attention. The chatter in the arena died down. One of the training dummies fell to the ground, covered with shaving cream and silly string. Travis and Connor Stoll, the counsellors for Hermes cabin, grinned sheepishly.

'Yes, it's good to see everyone,' Chiron said.

The other counsellors murmured in assent: Clarisse for Ares, her beefy arms crossed under a perpetual scowl; Beckendorf for Hephaestus, his large hands fiddling with some contraption that had a lot of gears and wires; Silena of Aphrodite, twisting a long, dark curl around her left pinky finger … we were all here, representing the nine occupied cabins. Well, all except one.

'Where's Prissy?' Clarisse asked, flexing her right forearm like she was dying to punch him.

'Percy has been delayed,' Chiron said. 'He will join us next week. We will fill him in later. At any rate, the other member of cabin three will only arrive then as well.'

'The other member—' My head shot up. 'Do you mean Tyson?'

There was a ripple of interest among the other counsellors. Percy's half-brother Tyson might be a Cyclops, but he'd won everyone over last summer when he'd helped us to retrieve the Golden Fleece and save the camp. Even Clarisse grudgingly acknowledged that he was 'kinda cool.' Beckendorf grinned with unconcealed delight; he and Tyson had bonded over a shared love of metalwork. As for me, I owed Tyson my life several times over. Cyclops or not, I now considered him one of my best friends.

The only person who didn't seem too thrilled by Tyson's impending return to camp was Grover. I guess I couldn't blame him. Last year, he'd almost ended up first as the bride and then the dinner of one of Tyson's brethren (long story). And he'd never had the chance to spend much time with Tyson after that, so he probably hadn't realised what I had come to: monsters weren't all designed with the same blueprint. The big guy was really a huge softy … and an incredibly loyal friend.

'To business,' Chiron continued, after the hubbub about Tyson had died down. 'May I first introduce our new sword-fighting instructor, Quintus?'

The grey-haired man put down the rag he'd been using to clean the training sword and stepped forward. 'Hello,' he said. His voice was low and pleasant, like his throat had been lubricated with oil. The sword dangled casually from his left hand.

'Quintus will be assisting me with activities in Mr D's absence.'

 _Absence?_ I mouthed at Grover.

He winced. His expression said, _I'll tell you later._

'Our plan for this year will be a little different. As you all know—'

Before Chiron could finish, a deafening _WOOF_ shook the arena. The world's biggest puppy burst through the door, only it wasn't a puppy—it was a massive hellhound with pitch black fur and glistening teeth framing its slavering grey tongue.

Silena Beauregard screamed. Clarisse cursed and jumped to her feet, pulling her electric spear from behind her back. Beckendorf leapt up and thrust Silena behind him protectively.

'Whoa, there!' said Quintus. Without any of us noticing, he had stepped into a battle stance by the hellhound's side, holding his sword in a defensive position. The hellhound's tail thumped enthusiastically. It caught the Stoll brothers' dress-up dummy, which flew across the room and hit the wall in a mini fireworks explosion. They'd evidently planted firecrackers inside for a prank.

'What in Hades's name is _that_ doing inside the boundaries?' Clarisse fumed, pointing her spear at the hellhound.

'I gave permission for Quintus to bring his pet,' Chiron said. He frowned at Quintus. 'Perhaps this wasn't the best way to introduce Mrs O'Leary.'

Quintus scratched under the hellhound's enormous jaws. A line of drool trickled from her slobbery mouth. 'Nonsense,' he said. 'They need to meet her—see that she's harmless.'

The hellhound—Mrs O'Leary—barked in agreement. Katie Gardner of Demeter covered her ears.

Quintus pointed to Travis and Connor's exploded dummy. 'Mrs O'Leary, fetch!' he said.

Mrs O'Leary covered the distance in a single bound. She sank her sharp teeth into the dummy and returned to Quintus's feet, where she sat on her haunches and began gnawing the dummy into sawdust.

'A pet hellhound,' Clarisse grumbled. She still hadn't put away her spear. 'You've got to be kidding me.'

Mrs O'Leary turned towards her. Lee Fletcher from Apollo and Dionysus's twin sons scooted their seats back. Despite Chiron and Quintus's assurances, Mrs O'Leary looked well capable of ripping any of us to shreds.

But she also reminded me of the three-headed Rottweiler that guarded the Underworld. Cerberus had been ready to kill us when we'd faced him … until I'd brought out a ball for him to play with.

I guess even demon dogs from the Fields of Punishment just need some love.

Mrs O'Leary took a few tentative steps towards Clarisse. Her tongue darted out to lick Clarisse's hand.

'Oh no you don't,' Clarisse warned, brandishing her spear. 'I ain't no dog person.'

Mrs O'Leary backed away from the spear point and whined. A trickle of yellow liquid ran down her back legs.

'Gross!' Silena wrinkled her nose.

'Ahem,' Chiron said, looking pained. 'Now that we've all had a chance to become acquainted with our new member of staff, Quintus, perhaps you could take Mrs O'Leary outside to do her business? In the woods, preferably.'

Quintus nodded and snapped his fingers. Mrs O'Leary followed him out. She left a wet splotch on the floor that smelt like, well, dog pee.

'Oh, Juniper's going to love that,' Grover muttered. His girlfriend was one of the wood nymphs. They got pretty touchy about people messing up their trees.

Chiron sighed at the mess. 'Perhaps we should continue this discussion at the Big House.'

We adjourned to the rec room to finish the meeting. Travis and Connor took over the ping-pong table immediately, filling the room with the sound of bouncing balls. Lee Fletcher scratched the point of an arrow along the side of his chair, making a surprisingly melodious sound, while Castor and Pollux Engle twiddled with the Foozball machine in the corner. Chiron had to bang his hoof a few times to get everyone's attention. The carpeted floor muffled the sound.

I guess this was why Chiron hadn't just held the war council here in the first place. There were too many distractions for a bunch of ADHD demigods.

'As I was saying,' Chiron said, 'we will be facing a great danger this summer. The Titan lord has promised an attack and we must be prepared. Already this spring some of his advance guard have attempted to infiltrate our borders, though they were fortunately unsuccessful. However, Kronos is not one to admit defeat. I believe he will break through eventually.'

'But the Fleece,' Katie said. 'If they can't get through the magical barriers—'

'There might be another way,' Clarisse said darkly. Our eyes locked. Between us passed the memory of a dark tunnel, a glowing triangle, and a blown-up building in Phoenix, Arizona.

'Are you talking about that thing you mentioned last winter?' Beckendorf asked. 'The secret underground tunnel?'

'The Labyrinth,' I corrected. 'But we haven't found an entrance here. Or any sign that Luke has learned to navigate it.'

Silena nudged Beckendorf and shook her head. 'Let's not talk about it, then.'

She'd been pretty spooked by the possibility when Clarisse had reported about the Labyrinth. I guess that hadn't changed.

'At any rate,' Chiron said, 'we must review our emergency protocols. In lieu of head counsellors, I would like to appoint Annabeth as head strategist.'

'Me?'

'Athena cabin will need to take point organising our defences,' Chiron said. 'Deploying each of the cabins in battle. Each of you has your strengths. Beckendorf, Hephaestus cabin must oversee the stocking of the armoury at once.'

Beckendorf grunted in assent. He gripped the wrench in his hand like he was ready to start hammering at the camp forge.

'Lee, we will need the infirmary stocked and ready, and all combat medics properly trained.'

Lee nodded grimly.

'Clarisse, you are our best battlefield commander. When the time comes, we will rely on you to lead the charge.'

Clarisse's grip tightened on her spear.

Chiron continued to assign roles to each cabin leader—the Stolls as battle scouts, Katie and Dionysus's twins in charge of camp welfare. Silena took point on the daily administrative duties that were usually shared out among all the counsellors. Chiron didn't mention Percy. I wondered what role he had in mind for him. Percy's special power was controlling water, which didn't make for a real strategy. But he had an even bigger strength: he was a whiz at improvisation. It drove me crazy, the way he always jumped into things without a plan, but he was also good at fixing things on the fly when plans went wrong. Maybe Chiron was keeping him in reserve, as back-up. It was what I'd do, if I were strategising.

Then I realised … this was exactly what I was doing. What I was supposed to do.

'The first capture the flag will be next Tuesday,' Chiron announced. 'Quintus and I have some … surprises planned. It should be interesting. In the meantime, train your campers, but do not alarm them. We may be preparing for an attack, but we are still a summer camp. Our campers are here to learn and have fun.'

The meeting ended. I went over to Clarisse, intending to ask if she had any updates about the Labyrinth. She had started up a conversation with Silena, of all people. Their voices were hushed. I only caught the words, 'basement … no change … worried,' before they looked up and saw me.

Silena chewed on her lower lip. 'Um, hi Annabeth.'

'It's fine,' Clarisse said curtly. 'Annabeth already knows.'

I raised my eyebrows. 'Knows what?'

'About Chris.'

My eyebrows shot up even further. Chris Rodriguez had been one of Luke's scouts in the Labyrinth. He'd turned up in Phoenix last fall, raving mad, our first clue that the Titans had been trying to navigate the ancient structure. I couldn't think why Clarisse would have consulted Silena about him.

Silena must have registered my surprise, because she said, 'I stumbled across him in the basement. I just wanted to help.'

'The basement?'

'Well, where else were we going to put him?' Clarisse said impatiently. 'It's not like he can go back to Hermes cabin—or anywhere else, not unless we want to announce it to the entire camp.'

'Do you think we should?' I asked. 'I know we said we'd keep it among the counsellors, but with Kronos preparing his next move on the camp … Did Chris tell you anything about that?'

'Chris can't tell us anything.' Silena shook her head sadly. 'He's mad.'

'What—still? I thought you brought him back so Mr D could heal him?' A shiver ran through me. Was it possible that whatever Chris had experienced in the Labyrinth had messed with his head so badly that even a god couldn't fix him?

My mind flashed to dark tunnels and forked paths. The million crossroads that haunted my dreams. Could choices really drive you crazy?

'I did,' Clarisse said. 'Only Mr D hasn't seen him.'

'Why not?'

Clarisse and Silena exchanged a troubled look.

'Because he's off tracking down the minor gods, trying to keep them in line,' Clarisse said. 'He's been gone for nearly two months.'

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

 **A/N** : No, that was _not_ the promised awkward percabeth IM conversation some of you have mentioned wanting to see. It's coming ... soon!

Thank you, **Hello, JustADerangedFanGirl, Thunderwolf7226, CQ816, MariaClaire, TheChasm, Athenachild101,** and **SG2000** for your comments this week! I love seeing your reactions as we go along, so thank you for indulging me with them. I'll be back next weekend, but just want to note that I may be delayed in responding to comments over the week as I'm going offline completely (at least until Wednesday) while on holiday. But thanks in advance to you faithful readers who have not failed to give me your feedback and cheer me on with the story. Til next Saturday!


	5. I Turn Down A Suspicious Offer

**A/N** : To my regular readers—you have been soooo patient ... but it's here at last. _Both_ the scenes you've been asking for. I hope they were worth the wait!

Chapter 5: I Turn Down A Suspicious Offer

Chiron hadn't been joking about working us hard. Every head counsellor was under pressure this summer to ensure their campers could defend themselves. As head strategist, I had to check on all their work. I inspected Beckendorf's war chest (he promised he'd have a dozen more shields once Tyson was here to help), sat in on Lee's first-responder training (he got their most talented healer, Will Solace, to drill everyone on emergency first-aid), and let Silena walk me through her checklist for camp tidiness ('Untidy cabins are trip and fire hazards,' she insisted).

In my spare time, I pored over maps with my half-brother Malcolm. We'd collected all the building plans and boundary maps for the camp perimeter and were working through them slowly, looking for spots where our defences would be thinnest. Malcolm had the idea to run alarm wires along the edge of the woods since we weren't certain where the magical barriers ended. I told him to run it by the Stolls.

There was another stack of maps that I perused alone. These had been gifted to us by a demigod professor at Princeton, a son of Hephaestus whom I'd met last year. He'd actually been in the Labyrinth in his youth, and he claimed there'd been a camp entrance into the maze then. It was possible that it had moved since; we still hadn't found any sign of it. The maps were copies of ancient Cretan blueprints from Prof Daly's personal research collection. I hoped they would give me a better sense of how the Labyrinth had extended itself under the mortal world. The problem was, I couldn't figure out how they all fit together. It wasn't so much a jigsaw as it was one of those visual illusions, with stairs that just kept going up and up and up.

Frustrated, I folded up the maps and stuffed them into a drawer.

Outside my cabin window, I could see the two new demigods, Mitchell and Lacy, heading up the path to the canoe lake. The naiads had gotten out the canoes for a paddling session. For some reason, that cheered me up. I wasn't great at canoeing, but the lake was one of Percy's favourite spots at camp. I'd bet ten drachmas we'd end up hanging out there his first day back—after my afternoon with him in Manhattan, of course.

Which reminded me … I hadn't told _Percy_ that Argus was bringing me into the city soon.

I stood up so quickly, I almost knocked my head on the top of my bunk. I had my prism and a golden drachma ready in my hand before I remembered the last time I'd IM-ed Percy. He'd been with a mortal then—his mom's new boyfriend, who didn't know anything about magic. We'd had to cut the call right away.

But I did have another option—one that made me just like a normal teenager for once.

I said a silent thank-you to my dad and rummaged in my drawer for the cell phone he'd given me. I hadn't told anyone I had it, since cell phones were technically forbidden at camp. Monsters can trace cell signals, so using a cell phone is basically like sending up a telegraphic flare to say _come get me!_ I'd never been entirely certain if using one within the magical boundaries would cause the barriers to weaken. It wasn't something anyone wanted to test.

Although my dad's phone had come from a military pal and used an encrypted cell network that should theoretically be untraceable, I didn't want to break the no-cell-phone rule too blatantly. I went up to the property line to make the call.

Peleus looked up when I approached Thalia's pine. I threw him a few animal crackers (he was partial to the sheep ones). He snapped them up with a contented snort.

A light breeze ruffled the branches of the tree. The Golden Fleece swayed in it, glittering brightly among the evergreen needles. I wondered what Thalia was up to now. Last I heard, she and the Hunters of Artemis were tracking down ancient monsters. I hoped they'd been having some success.

Percy's mom, Sally, answered my call on the third ring.

'Hi Ms Jackson,' I said politely. 'Is Percy there?'

'Yes …' She sounded surprised. I guess Percy didn't get too many phone calls. This made me glad, for some reason. 'Who should I tell him this is?'

'Oh, um, sorry. It's Annabeth. From camp.'

'Annabeth!' Sally sounded even more astonished now. 'Honey, are you all right? This must be so dangerous for you—'

'I'm fine,' I said quickly. 'I'm at camp. I was just, um—Chiron said I could go into Manhattan next week, and I thought maybe, um—' I cast about for a way to explain why I was calling that didn't sound like I was asking Percy on a date.

I wasn't, was I?

'Oh, of course, honey.' Sally's knowing tone made my cheeks heat up. 'You're always welcome here, you know. I'll go get Percy. He'll be thrilled to hear from you.'

There was a soft click as she put down the phone. I heard her voice in the background, calling for Percy. Seconds later, there came the loud huff of someone breathing hard into the speaker.

'Annabeth?' Percy sounded like he'd just sprinted across his mom's apartment.

'Hey,' I said. Maybe it was just the phone, but his voice was pitched lower than I remembered.

'I thought we couldn't use cell phones. Aren't you gonna, like, bring a horde of monsters down on you?'

'I think we're okay for now.' I explained how my dad had gotten my phone special from the military. 'But we'd better not talk too long, anyway. I just wanted to tell you Chiron gave me permission to go into the city next week, and, um …' My voice faltered. The idea of me going all the way up there just to ride back with him to camp suddenly seemed really lame. In the pause, I counted one heartbeat, two, three …

Just when I was beginning to cringe, Percy said, 'D-do you want to, like …' He mumbled something.

'What?'

'Never mind,' he said quickly. 'It was a dumb idea. I just thought, well, the new Indiana Jones is out—'

'Like … the movie? Are you—I mean, did you want to—'

'Go see it, yeah.' He sounded like he'd developed a sudden sore throat. 'If you don't want to, that's okay—'

'No! I mean, yes, I want to.' I was ambivalent about Indiana Jones, but the thought of going to the movies with Percy, a whole afternoon that was just the two of us, made my insides turn light and fluttery.

'Uh, cool,' Percy said. 'Er, I got this high school orientation thing Monday morning, but I could meet you after …'

'Wait—Monday? I thought you were coming to camp on Tuesday?'

'I am,' he said, puzzled. 'But—oh. Does that mean you can't meet me Monday after all?'

'No. Monday's cool.'

'You could, um, stay over if you like,' he offered. 'And my mom can drive us to camp together.' Was it just me, or did he sound hopeful?

'I'd like that.'

'Cool.' Even though images didn't travel over the phone, I somehow knew his cute, lopsided smile was spreading across his face. He gave me the address of his new high school and the time of his morning orientation, and we hung up.

Peleus gave a breathy snort, like he was laughing at me. He winked one large, amber eye.

'Shut up,' I told him, but without any real rancour. I was going for a movie with Percy, and spending the night at his place. I didn't think anything could spoil my mood right now.

When I came down the hill, I found Grover sitting on the back steps of the Big House, playing a mournful tune on his reed pipes. His dryad girlfriend Juniper sat next to him, patting his arm comfortingly.

'It's going to be okay, Grover,' she was saying. 'You're the bravest satyr ever! The Council will see that. You just have to tell them everything you've done.'

Grover lowered his pipes. 'But I _have,_ Juniper. They just don't believe me.'

I took a seat beside them. 'Is this about the hearing?'

'Yeah,' Grover said miserably. 'It's been scheduled for Monday afternoon.'

I pushed my hair behind my ears, feeling guilty. Monday. I was going to miss it.

'Juniper's right,' I said bracingly. 'You've already gotten further than anyone in the search.'

'I just don't understand it,' Grover wailed. 'Why the trail keeps vanishing! Like it's—I don't know, gone underground or something.'

'Maybe it has.'

We looked up. Clarisse had come onto the porch. For once, she wasn't carrying her spear. And she actually looked thoughtful, which was rare for an Ares kid.

'What do you mean?' I asked.

'Well, has Grover looked underground?'

'Like, in a cave?' Grover wrinkled his nose.

'No, I mean actually underground. What if Pan's in the Labyrinth?'

'Seriously?' I said. 'Why would you think that?'

'Everything else seems to be down there,' Clarisse said. 'Kronos's monsters. Luke's scouts. Maybe the reason no one's finding anything is because everything's hidden in there.'

I had to admit this actually made sense. It fit what my mom had said: _They are moving underground._

In my head, I saw the blue _Delta_ at the Geary Street Target and the hippogriffs bursting from the superstore.

'We thought Kronos might be trying to use the Labyrinth to get to us,' I mused. 'But what if he's just using it like—like an incubation chamber for monsters?'

'Pan isn't a monster!' Juniper protested.

'But it might not be just monsters returning through the Labyrinth.' I looked at Clarisse. 'Remember what Prof Daly said at Princeton last year? _Nobody knows where the Labyrinth draws its life force from._ What if _Pan_ is sustaining it?'

Grover let out a nervous, bleating laugh. 'That's ridiculous. How can he be underground? Remember, he was last seen by a sailor off the coast of Ephesos!'

'Yeah, and that sailor said to tell the world he's dead,' I reminded him. 'So if you believe that story, you must believe he's dead.'

'You just don't like underground spaces 'cause you're a satyr,' Clarisse said.

'Underground smells of monsters for a reason,' Grover protested. 'And Pan's a satyr, too. He wouldn't like the underground any more than I do.'

'Maybe he's not there by chance,' Clarisse said darkly. 'Maybe—'

'Well, this sounds like an interesting conversation.' Quintus popped up on the lawn. His sword dangled from his belt. He looked fresh as a daisy, but a glance across the green confirmed that the Apollo campers were practically crawling back to their cabin from the direction of the sword-fighting arena. Training under Quintus was no joke—he could disarm just about anyone in five seconds flat. (Or it could be because sparring with a bear-sized hellhound spectating made everyone nervous.)

Clarisse gave Quintus a distasteful look.

'Think about it,' she said to Grover, and stalked off.

'I do not think that girl likes me very much,' Quintus observed. He ran his hand along the hilt of his sword.

'It's just Clarisse,' Grover said. 'She doesn't like _anyone._ You should see her with Percy.'

'Ah. The elusive Percy Jackson. I've heard quite a bit about this young man.' Quintus nodded sharply, as though he'd come to a decision. He smiled kindly at Grover. 'I think some of the wood nymphs are having trouble with a patch of weeds. I was told you might be the man—er, satyr—for the job.'

Grover blushed. 'Oh, um, yeah, of course, if they need me.'

He headed off with Juniper, leaving me alone with our new sword instructor.

Quintus gazed out over the camp grounds. 'An interesting place,' he said. 'I wonder what it would have been like to grow up in a setting like this.'

'Are you a half-blood, too?'

He nodded. 'But I had no camp such as this when I was a boy.'

I stared at him. How old was Quintus exactly? With his grey hair and beard, he was definitely older than my dad, possibly even older than Professor Daly, who was the oldest demigod I'd ever met so far. But if Quintus had grown up before the camp had come to Long Island, he had to be ancient.

Or maybe he just hadn't known about camp. Plenty of demigods never made it here. Although most of them ended up as a monster's snack, a number had made it to adulthood without ever being trained. Some of them were even famous. You probably wouldn't believe me if I told you their names.

Quintus's eyes landed on the hedge maze in front of the art and crafts cabin, the one I'd designed a year ago. It was growing well now, the hedges well over six feet. A few of the Demeter kids were trimming the branches.

'Quite a work of art,' Quintus said appreciatively. 'Chiron says it was your handiwork.'

'Yes,' I said, lifting my chin a notch. 'And the art and crafts cabin, too. After it got burnt down last summer.'

'Ah.' Quintus squinted at the building. 'Functional and aesthetic. You are an architect, then.'

'Do you know about architecture?'

Quintus scratched his beard. 'A bit.'

I got the sense that he knew more than a bit, but he didn't elaborate. Instead, he took a seat at the card table Mr D usually reserved for pinochle games, and motioned for me to grab the adjacent chair. 'Tell me about camp, Annabeth.'

'Camp?' I said, bewildered. After all, we were _at_ camp. He'd been wandering around for days, examining our different activities with Mrs O'Leary trotting at his heels. What more was there to tell about it?

Quintus nodded and leaned forward with an eager glint in his eyes. 'What do _you_ think of it?'

'Well, it's …' How did I begin to explain my complex relationship with camp? 'It's where we're protected. Where we learn who our parents are—who _we_ are. It's—the only place demigods can be safe. It's … home, I guess.' _Something permanent,_ my mind suggested. The memory of a cold, derisive laugh echoed in response— _Foolish girl … it is temporary … like everything will soon be …_

I shuddered.

'Indeed.' Quintus steepled his fingers under his beard. 'But I was given to understand that the place might be under attack from a traitor—one of your own? This … Luke?'

My throat tightened painfully. 'That's not—I mean, Luke, he's—' _Misguided,_ I wanted to say. _Misled._

My hesitation seemed to be answer enough for Quintus. He gave that quick, decisive nod again, as if I'd given him some critical information. 'Thank you for the chat, Annabeth. It's always good to get all the facts straight.' He got up and bowed to me. As he bent, I saw a dark bruise on his shoulder peeking out from under his tunic. Who had possibly managed to score a hit on him? 'I should go take a shower before dinner. See you around, my dear.'

I stayed on the back porch, frowning at Quintus's retreating back. I'd been trying not to think too much about Luke, but Quintus's questions brought it all back—the last time I'd seen him.

It hadn't even been a fortnight ago. I'd just gotten my acceptance letter to design school—the offer I'd turned down—and my mind had been a million miles away from the war when I'd answered the door. I'd been totally unprepared to find Luke standing there on the front step of my house in San Francisco.

He'd looked nearly as bad as when I'd rescued him from under the sky last winter. His sandy hair had been lank and lacklustre, with a thin line of grey threaded through it. I had the same grey streak, and so did Percy. It was a token of our ordeal, the signature of the sky that we had each taken a turn in carrying. It connected us, like a thread of fate, knitting us tightly into the same quilted future.

The memory enveloped me.

 _My heartbeat pounded in my ears. 'How did you find—' My hand went to my dagger. 'What are you doing here?'_

 _Luke reached for my arm. 'So it's true. You came to San Francisco.' His eyes were wild, just like when we'd stood fighting on the edge of Mount Tam._

 _When he'd fallen off the cliff._

 _I'd known somehow that he had survived, that we would meet again, but I hadn't expected it to be like this._

 _I jerked away the moment he touched me, his fingers cold as death._

 _'Annabeth …'_

 _My heart was a resounding hammer against my rib cage. 'What are you doing here?' I repeated. 'Are you trying to—to kidnap me again?' I craned my neck to see behind him, half-expecting a team of Scythian_ dracaenae _to burst out of Janet's well-trimmed bushes._

 _'No, nothing like that. I came to … look,' he held up his hands, 'I'm unarmed. No one else is here. Just me.'_

 _I crossed my arms but kept my dagger in my hand. Luke's eyes darted to it. He seemed to brighten at the sight of it._

 _'I just want five minutes to talk, okay? Can you give me that?'_

 _I should tell him to go. Percy would have. He'd probably have run Luke through with Riptide by now. Especially if Luke really was weaponless, as he claimed to be. But I sighed and nodded tightly._

 _Luke threw a desperate look over his shoulder, like he was afraid of being overheard. 'Annabeth, I screwed up. I—everything's all messed up. And Thalia's gone, and I've failed, and—I wish I could take it all back.'_

 _'Thalia's not gone, Luke. She's just joined the Hunters.'_

 _'She's gone to me,' he said bitterly. He looked at my dagger again. 'But you're still—I want to leave. Leave Kr—leave_ him _and go back.'_

 _'Back?' Hope fluttered in my heart. Did he mean what I thought he did? 'To camp, you mean?'_

 _'No—no, that's not what—' He gulped. 'Annabeth, we could—we could run away. From all of it. No more gods, no more—will you come with me?'_

 _'What are you talking about?' I said. 'We can't run away. That's crazy.'_

 _'You don't understand.' Luke's eyes grew wide and fearful. 'Kronos is going to use me. I—please, Annabeth. Come with me. It would be like the old days.'_

 _He held his hand out to me, palm facing up. For a second, I was seven years old again. Luke, my hero, was offering me a hand that meant safety, protection,_ family.

 _For a second, Luke was who he used to be._

 _Then the illusion burst. Sunlight danced over the grey streak in his hair, reminding me of the crushing weight of the sky—a weight that Luke had put on my back. He'd pleaded with me then, too._

 _I wanted to believe him—to believe that I could rescue him from Kronos. I_ wanted _to rescue him from Kronos. But this desire had gotten me and Artemis trapped and two Hunters killed last winter._

 _I stepped back from Luke. 'No. No way, Luke. How—how can I even trust anything you say? You—you've tricked me so many times. How is anything different now?'_

 _'I'm serious, Annabeth. I really am. I don't have much time left. Kronos, he—Percy Jackson keeps ruining his plans, but he won't stop until he gets what he wants. He's going to take over the world. He's going to use me as a stepping stone to do it.'_

 _'Kronos has been using you all along,' I pointed out. 'He used_ me, _too, if you've forgotten._ You _used me to trap Artemis. And if you think I'm going to let you trick me into being used again—'_

 _My breath caught in my throat. My eyes burned. Broken trust hung between me and Luke, the weight of it heavier than the sky. 'I almost died, Luke. If Percy hadn't—'_

 _'Percy.' Luke's mouth twisted like he'd just swallowed a lemon. 'That's it, isn't it? You won't come with me because of him. You're choosing him.'_

 _'Don't be ridiculous,' I snapped. 'I'm not choosing anyone.'_

 _Luke's expression turned dark and dangerous. 'He'll never be what you need, Annabeth.'_

 _'And you are?' I challenged. My fingers tightened involuntarily around the hilt of my dagger. Luke's eyes darted to it._

 _'Are you going to fight me, too? Like Thalia?' His whole demeanour changed. No longer was he desperate and pleading. This was the angry, jaded Luke that Kronos had corrupted. I waited for him to pull out his sword, to prove he'd been lying about coming here defenceless. But he just laughed bitterly. 'You may as well. You'll never get the chance again.'_

 _He spread his arms so that his chest was exposed, unprotected, before me. I could have killed him easily. One stab to the heart would have done it._

 _I made myself release my dagger. It clattered to the ground between us. Luke didn't stoop to pick it up._

 _'Just go, Luke. If you're serious about leaving Kronos, come back to camp.'_

The sound of a conch horn brought me back to the present. Chiron was at the dining pavilion, gathering us for dinner. I touched my cheeks. They were wet.

I'd picked up my knife and closed the door on Luke, but I hadn't been able to leave. A minute later, I'd opened it. Luke had gone.

If I'd agreed to go with him, would we really have been able to escape Kronos? More likely, we'd have been hunted down and killed. And I would have abandoned camp, and Percy, all for nothing.

I'd done the right thing.

Luke was still out there now. I'd hoped he'd really run away, that Kronos hadn't been able to use him the way he feared. But I was filled with the same certainty that had struck me when I scouted Mount Tam.

Luke was still with Kronos, and we would see him again, very soon.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

 **A/N** : I know, _finally,_ the awkward IM _and_ the Luke-asks-Annabeth-to-run-away scene! Yes, yes, I've made you wait so long for it … but I hope it was worth it! Please do let me know what you thought!

And yes, I did research which movies might be playing in the theatre the year I set this …

Some references in this chapter come from events in my previous stories, The Golden Fleece, and Necklace of Harmonia. Annabeth's special phone (and my reasoning for how she got it), for instance, is a plot point from NoH. I figured Percy had to find out about it _somehow_ , so it all got worked into the conversation. I still think it's a bit of a cop-out to suddenly have her have a cell phone after books of 'oh no, monsters will eat us if we use a cell', but oh well. As for the date planning … it _had_ to happen, right? How else was she going to come out into Manhattan to meet him if they'd never arranged it beforehand?!

Thank you **OverLordRevan, Hello, Guest, SG2000, CQ816,** and **Thunderwolf7226** for stopping by this past week. I'm very sorry I didn't get to replying your reviews until today. I'm still on holiday in Scotland (and it's been absolutely fantastic), but shall be back to the daily grind tomorrow!


	6. A Mortal Crashes My Date

Chapter 6: A Mortal Crashes My Date

In my dreams that night, I found myself in an enormous room. It had no ceiling, only walls of polished marble that stretched into a cloudless, bright blue sky. Like our art and crafts cabin, the open-air layout had dedicated spaces for different projects. The corner nearest to me was a makeshift forge with a crude hearth fire for welding. Bronze tools scattered the floor around it: saws, chisels, awls.

A man sat hunched over a work table in the centre of the room. He was even older than Quintus, with greying hair and gnarled, leathery skin as wrinkled as a toad's. But his eyes were bright and intelligent, and his hands deft and nimble. They flew over the contraption he was working on, twisting each of the parts into place with mechanical precision. It was shaped like a box, with springs and coils and levers anywhere. I couldn't tell what it was supposed to be.

The old man leaned back and scrutinised his handiwork. Satisfied, he picked it up and brought it to another corner of the workshop, which was stacked with all kinds of strange machinery: an assortment of cages, planks with thick, metal rings attached, mousetraps as big as a table. There was even a bronze Sphinx prowling back and forth across the massive oak double doors that framed the room.

'That will go well in section Omega,' muttered the old man. He set his new contraption down with the others in the corner and puttered over to another worktable. This was covered in papyrus scrolls. They looked a bit like the maps Prof Daly had given me, except these seemed newly made. There were pages and pages of them, more than I had, all filled with line drawings and layouts—blueprints for a building.

The old man bent over the topmost blueprint and made a mark on it, a cross marking a spot. On closer examination, the designs were of twisting tunnels, a maze so complicated that when I followed the lines into the centre of the page, I immediately lost track of the point I'd started from.

Something creaked. The old man looked up sharply.

The metal Sphinx at the door bared its teeth. 'No password, no entry,' it said in a dull monotone. 'What creature walks on four legs in the morning, two in the afternoon, and three at night?'

Behind the oak doors, a girl giggled. 'Man, of course!'

The Sphinx jumped aside. The doors inched open and in ran a girl of about six or seven. 'Daedalus! I found you!'

The old man opened his arms and the girl leapt into them. He lifted her off the ground, spinning her up towards the faraway sky, then set her down and held her shoulders at arm's length.

'I've told you not to play in here, Ariadne,' Daedalus said.

'Have you been making more toys, Daedalus?' The girl looked around the room with shining eyes.

Daedalus's body was tense, but he spoke gently, like he didn't want to frighten Ariadne. He held his hand out to her. 'Come. Let us return to the palace. I will show you a new puzzle.'

Ariadne took Daedalus's hand happily and let him lead her out of the workshop. When they passed the metal Sphinx, she reached out and patted its head. The automaton purred.

'I like your toys,' Ariadne said. 'You should teach this one some new riddles. That one is too easy.'

Daedalus pushed open the oak doors. 'That is because I taught you the answer.'

Ariadne tossed her head. 'Teach me a new one, then.'

They exited the room into a narrow passageway. The walls were made of the same gleaming marble, slightly lower than the room's and uneven at the top, like the stone was still being laid. Grinding and scraping noises came from a short distance away, interrupted by the occasional groan or curse. It sounded like a crew of workmen were building something nearby.

Still holding Daedalus's hand, Ariadne made to turn right down the passageway. He held her back.

'Wait.' He raised his free hand to check his watch. I wondered what time he was waiting for, then realised it wasn't a watch strapped to his wrist, but a tiny compass. The needlepoint swung straight into the wall. Daedalus frowned at it, closed his eyes in thought, then started walking in the direction that Ariadne had chosen.

'I told you!' Ariadne tugged at Daedalus's hand. 'I can find my way.'

Daedalus laughed. 'If you say so,' he said. From his placating tone, it was clear he thought she'd just made a lucky guess. Ariadne flicked her braids and carried on confidently through the twists and turns, barely pausing whenever they came to a fork or further they went, the more Daedalus's eyebrows knit together. Finally, they arrived at a large, circular room. The walls here were at least twenty feet tall, higher than anywhere else in the maze. They cast deep shadows across the ground. Lined up along them were a dozen identical doors, all made of iron, with metal bars running horizontally across.

A door slammed shut over the passageway Daedalus and Ariadne had just come through. As soon as it did, the room seemed to spin, such that I could no longer tell which door they had emerged from, let alone where they should go.

'See?' Daedalus said. 'The Labyrinth is designed to fool you. Even if you found your way in, you won't find your way out. Not without a guide.' He raised his arm, the one with the compass strapped to it, and turned a dial on its side, the way you might wind up an antique clock. 'Even the workers building it—when they are finished, I shall have to retrieve them, or they will be lost inside forever.'

The compass whirred. A beam of light shot from it, a thin blue line leading from one of the iron doors. At the other end of the compass, where the needle pointed north, another light emerged, this one like a wispy thread. It snaked around the room, examining each door in turn.

Ariadne clapped her hands in delight. 'Is it magic?'

Daedalus's lips curved up. 'Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic, my dear.'

Ariadne let go of Daedalus's hand and ran forward to pick a door. 'This way!'

The compass swung round to point at her just as she lifted the latch and pushed the door open. Her footsteps left brief fluorescent prints on the ground, the same faint blue as the light from Daedalus's compass. They faded seconds after they had appeared, but the compass light followed her like she was the magnetic north.

Daedalus stared after her. 'I wonder …' he murmured, reaching out to touch the light. It curled around his finger like it was actually tangible, a real thread. Then he seemed to remember that he shouldn't leave a child alone in his maze, and hurried after her, calling her name.

Ariadne burst out of the Labyrinth onto a sea-facing cliff. The terrain was wild and windy. Aside from a few scraggly bushes that forced their way out of cracks in the parched ground, there was no vegetation. The outer perimeter of the Labyrinth was vast, stretching all the way down the cliff and far into the distance. The walls seemed to go on forever.

A little way off from the maze entrance, a path led up the hill to the gates of a glittering golden palace. A procession of men was coming down the path. The one in the lead wore a thin crown that sparkled gold in the sunlight. He gestured impressively towards the Labyrinth.

'It will be a prison to end all prisons,' he boasted. 'No criminal would ever find their way out! And if they tried …'

In the middle of this spiel, Ariadne ran into the procession, yelling to Daedalus over her shoulder, 'I told you I could find my way!'

The king's face went a deep, blotchy purple. Several of the courtiers tittered. A man in flowing magenta robes said in a heavily accented voice, 'I see just how difficult you have made it, Minos.'

Daedalus emerged from the maze. His face drained of colour when he took in King Minos and his guests. He dropped into a respectful bow.

'It is just my daughter,' Minos said, waving at Ariadne. 'Who clearly spends too much time playing make-believe.' Despite his airy words, his voice was tight with anger. I was sure that if he hadn't been shepherding a group of guests, he would have backhanded his daughter across the face. Ariadne clearly sensed this, too. She ducked behind Daedalus, hiding from her father's rage.

'We meant no harm, King Minos,' Daedalus said. 'I … merely allowed the princess to peek into the maze. We did not enter its chambers.'

Minos waved a hand dismissively at him. 'You see,' he told his guests, 'it would not be safe to take more than a few steps into the treacherous prison.' He glared at the magenta-robed man who had mocked him. 'You are, of course, welcome to attempt it if you wish, my dear Aegeus. Although I would advise you to have a succession plan in place for the crown of Athens before you do.'

There were more snickers, this time directed at King Aegeus.

'Wouldn't dream of it, my dear king,' demurred Aegeus.

'And this is the chief architect on the project,' Minos continued. 'I trust the construction is going according to plan, Daedalus?'

'Very well, sir,' Daedalus said quickly. 'As you can see, we have already erected the main structure. But the interior will still need to be—'

'Yes, yes.' Minos clapped a hand on Daedalus's shoulder. 'Do get back to work, then. We want the prison done by the time our … special guest is ready for it, don't we?'

A shadow flickered over Daedalus's face. Without a word, he detached himself from the cowering princess, bowed to the king and his guests, and disappeared into the Labyrinth. Minos snapped his fingers. One of the courtiers came forward.

'Take Princess Ariadne up to the palace. I will deal with her later.'

I got one last look at Ariadne's terrified face before the dream shifted, and I found myself in a dark stable. The smell of hay and manure clogged up my nostrils.

Minos flung the door open and dragged his daughter inside, his hand tight around her collar.

'Wretched child,' he growled. 'You embarrassed me in front of the Athenian convoy.' He shoved her into a corner of the stall and backed out of it, barring the door behind him.

'Please, Papa,' Ariadne pleaded, 'I didn't mean to—'

'If you enjoy playing in dark spaces so much, you can stay in one overnight. That will teach you to wander into places you don't belong.'

The main stable door banged shut, leaving her in darkness.

A stench of rancid meat made my stomach turn. In the next stall, there was a loud scuffling noise, like something was pawing at the ground. This was followed by an angry bellow and a loud _riiiip_. Ariadne drew her knees into her chest and began to cry.

The terrifying sounds emanating from the neighbouring stall ceased. The creature inside made a soft crooning noise. Ariadne ran her sleeve over her face, wiping away tears and snot.

'Who—who's there?'

The creature lowed. There was something deep and mournful about the sound. Ariadne crawled to the wall that separated the stalls. Between the stable wall and the ground was a thin gap. She put a tentative hand into it.

Something soft, wet, and breathing nosed against her palm. An animal—a cow, maybe.

'Are you okay?'

The maybe-cow nuzzled her hand.

'Are you locked in here, too?'

A soft moan.

'Me too,' she said. She settled herself cross-legged on the ground and reached both hands through the gap. To my shock, fingers emerged from the neighbouring stall and closed around hers. Startled, Ariadne withdrew her hands.

A pause, then a snuffling, braying noise—the creature starting to cry. I couldn't help feeling a wave of pity for it. Whatever—whoever—was in the next stall had been locked up, too, and was probably desperate and lonely.

'Hey!' Ariadne put her hands back. 'It's okay! You just startled me. Don't cry, it's all right. I'll be your friend. I'm Ariadne. What's your name?'

The crying stopped. Ariadne's new friend made a series of muffled clicks and slurps with his tongue. I didn't know how she expected him to answer. Did the creature even have a name, or understand words?

'My papa locked me up in here because he didn't like me playing in the maze. I don't understand why. Daedalus says it's dangerous, but I like it in there. It's not like being indoors. You can see the sky. I bet if we were in there now, we could see the stars.'

Ariadne's part-cow friend squeezed her hand.

'You like stars?'

Squeeze.

'I'm going to call you Asterion,' she said. 'That's the name of a star, you know. Daedalus says so. And I was supposed to have a baby brother named Asterion, but Mama was upset when he was born, and Papa said he was a monster and should be locked up, and—'

There was a growl from the stall. The hands Ariadne were holding slipped out of her grip.

'Oh. _Oh._ '

The part-cow started to cry again, with great braying sobs.

'You _are_ Asterion. You're my brother!'

His crying got even louder.

'No, no, don't cry! Please don't cry! It's okay! I know who you are now, and I'm going to—I'm going to help you! I—I won't leave you locked up in here. Maybe … maybe you can live in the maze! It's a really cool place. You'll see.'

Asterion's cries abated. His soft, wet nose pushed into Ariadne's palm again. She patted it gently and started to sing a lullaby.

I woke with a start, completely disoriented. It was a moment before I remembered I was in a bed instead of a stable surrounded by bales of hay, next to— _di immortales,_ a baby Minotaur.

Because I knew who Asterion had to be.

I'd never really thought about the monster having a name before. In every myth, it was simply the killer of the Labyrinth, Minos's feared executioner. Two summers ago, it had reformed and gone after Percy. I'd seen its massive horn, Percy's spoil of war. It was hard to reconcile my image of the ferocious bull man with the sad creature Ariadne had sung to in the stables. Whatever Asterion had started out as, I guess he'd changed later on.

Then I thought about the reason Ariadne had been locked in the stables overnight. She'd been playing in the Labyrinth—Daedalus's Labyrinth.

Somehow, she'd navigated it. And Daedalus had had an instrument to help him—the compass with the light that had followed Ariadne through the maze. Was that the precursor of the fabled Ariadne's string?

Struck by a sudden frenzy of productivity, I flung back my covers and pulled out the maps in my drawer. I spread them over my desk, searching for any drawings of a wide room like Daedalus's workshop, or the spinning circular room near the entrance. I couldn't say how this would help—after all, neither of those things really told me where the Labyrinth extended _now_ —but maybe if I could just pinpoint some locations within the Labyrinth, everything else might just fall into place.

I didn't know how long I worked over the maps, trying to assimilate the information from my dream with the blueprints I had. I dimly registered my cabin mates calling me to breakfast at some point. I think I said something like, 'Go without me.' Or maybe it was just, 'Okay, good morning.' It's like that when something really gets my attention: everything else just disappears, including time.

The next thing I knew, Malcolm was shaking me firmly by the shoulder. This time, he refused to let go when I tried to shrug him off.

Irritably, I said, 'What?'

'Sorry, Annabeth, but Argus insisted I get you. He looks kind of agitated. I think he's late for his delivery schedule or something … weren't you going with him into Manhattan today?'

My hand flew to my mouth. 'Oh my gods! What time is it?'

It was already mid-morning. I should have met Argus ten minutes ago.

I groaned. There was no time to find something nicer to wear than jeans and a clean camp t-shirt. I didn't even have time to drag a comb through my hair. It wasn't like it really mattered—Percy had seen me in much worse states. But I didn't want him to think I was treating out afternoon together like just another monster fight.

At least I had the drive into Manhattan to tease my hair into a functional ponytail. My curls often drew me crazy, but the useful thing about long hair was that it generally looked presentable as long as I could tie it back. Argus didn't talk during the drive, but then he never did. He has eyes all over his body from the time he worked as Hera's personal security officer, and he hates to show off the peepers on his tongue.

After a while, he turned the radio station to Thalia's favourite alt rock channel, the one we used to listen to when he drove us back and forth to school last year. He must have forgiven me for being late. I hummed along to the music as we got closer to the city, my excitement growing with every mile.

Argus dropped me off on the corner of East Eighty-first and York, along with a wad of cash for emergencies. I didn't know if he'd actually meant to give me fifties. Surely a roll of tens would have sufficed. By the time I realised the mistake, he'd already sped off to make his first delivery.

I stuffed the notes into my pocket and checked the address. The school was on the other end of East Eighty-first, and I still had some time, so I strolled down the sidewalk. New York was as busy as ever, with cars piling up in the streets, taxis honking, some alarms going off nearby—there was always some emergency just around the corner in a city as densely populated as this.

Someone came sprinting down a side alley towards the main street. My heart skipped a beat when I saw it was Percy.

'Hey!' I said brightly. 'You're out early.'

The way he was running, like he couldn't wait to get to me, made me giddy. He was going so fast, he'd charge straight off the sidewalk if he wasn't careful. I caught hold of his shoulder. 'Watch where you're going, Seaweed Brain.'

Percy turned and looked at me as though he was only just registering my presence. His green eyes were wild and terrified—my first signal that something was very wrong.

All my excitement went crashing to the sidewalk. Percy hadn't been running to me; he'd been running _away_ from something.

It was then that I noticed the cloud of black smoke billowing from the high school building. The scene gave me a sense of déjà-vu, probably because the last time I'd met up with Percy at school, he'd gone and blown up his gymnasium. He had a knack for getting into situations like this. I mean, sure, all of us half-bloods did, but Percy was especially gifted at it.

Unfortunately, I had a feeling it meant our afternoon wasn't going to go as planned.

I was about to ask what he'd blown up this time when a girl came barrelling out of the alley, calling Percy's name.

The girl would have been pretty if she hadn't been covered from head to toe in glittery yellow dust, the kind monsters tend to leave behind when you pulverise them. Seeing her run up to Percy and grab his arm gave me a sharp stab in the gut. I glanced back at the school, at the billowing smoke, the screaming, the fire alarms … Had they been fighting together in there? Was she a new half-blood he'd found?

There was no reason to be mad. I mean, even if tag-teaming monsters was kind of _our_ thing, it wasn't like Percy had gone to orientation intending to fight together with this girl. The idea was absurd … wasn't it?

All the same, I couldn't help the ice in my tone when I asked Percy what had happened and who the girl was.

Percy scratched behind his ear. 'Oh, um. Rachel.' His voice _was_ lower than I remembered it, but I barely registered this, as he turned to address his … whoever she was. 'Annabeth. Annabeth—Rachel.' Percy looked unsure how to explain me. 'Um, she's a friend, I guess.'

Rachel's eyes swept over me for the briefest of seconds. 'Hi,' she said, and turned away immediately, like I wasn't anyone important. She started to badger Percy as if I wasn't even there. Her voice came out really fast, like she was shooting bullets instead of words.

I couldn't believe this was happening. First Percy had brought along this girl. (Had he invited her with us to the movies, too? Maybe he'd never intended for it to be just us.) Then he'd introduced _me_ to Rachel, like I'd interrupted _them_ in the middle of something. And now this Rachel was ignoring me.

I lifted my chin. I was a daughter of Athena. Nobody ignored _me._ 'Percy, we should go.'

Rachel placed her hands on her hips. 'I want to know more about half-bloods! And monsters. And this stuff about the gods.'

The moment she started scrawling a cell phone number on the back of Percy's hand with an ugly black marker, I realised she couldn't be a half-blood. No half-blood, even one who didn't know their true heritage, could have owned a phone long enough to have a permanent number. (Well, unless they had a special one like mine, and what were the odds of that?) I gritted my teeth and wished I had Percy's power over water. I'd have made that ink slide right off his skin.

'You're going to call me and explain, okay?' Rachel's voice brokered no arguments. Who did she think she was, ordering Percy around? 'You owe me that. Now get going.'

Percy started to protest, like he didn't want to leave Rachel behind. I had to remind myself that we did not harm mortals. All the same, it was only the knowledge that my Celestial bronze blade would just pass harmlessly through her anyway that kept me from pulling it out and sticking it in her craw.

Percy, on the other hand … I felt like he might deserve a good stab in the hand. Right where Rachel's phone number stared at me in taunting black ink.

Rachel waved her hand, like, _I've got this._ 'I'll make up some story. I'll tell them it wasn't your fault. Just go!'

She turned and headed back into the school.

I flexed my fingers, resisting the urge to hit Percy in the face. If I looked at him any longer, I was going to explode. I started to run down the street, though I wasn't sure where I was headed.

Not to the movies, that was certain.

'Hey!' Percy chased after me, trying to explain himself between gasping breaths. He poured out a garbled story about _empousai_ cheerleaders and threats to camp, but I barely heard any of it. I just kept hearing Rachel's voice demanding that Percy tell her about half-bloods and monsters.

Percy grabbed my arm. I whirled around so fast, my ponytail smacked him in the face.

'You told a mortal girl about half-bloods?' I don't know why it was the first accusation that sprang to mind. I guess I couldn't very well yell at him for the monsters.

'She can see through the Mist,' he protested. 'She saw the monsters before I did.'

'So you told her the truth?'

'She recognised me from Hoover Dam, so—'

My stomach flipped over. Hoover Dam. As far as I knew, the only time Percy had been there was last winter, when he'd been on a quest to rescue me. He'd never mentioned meeting a girl there.

'You've—' My throat was dry and crackly. 'You've met her _before?_ '

'Um, last winter,' Percy said. 'But, seriously, I barely know her.'

I stared at him. For someone he barely knew, he seemed pretty friendly with her. 'She's kind of cute,' I pointed out.

'I—I never thought about it.' He rubbed his arms nervously. 'Look, I—I'll deal with the school. Honest, it'll be fine.'

Yeah, because his new girlfriend was making excuses for him. Behind us, police sirens wailed.

'I guess our afternoon is off,' I said cautiously, wondering if he would even bother to protest. Would he insist that we try and have a normal time anyway?

Percy didn't contradict me. My heart sank. Maybe it was for the best. 'We should get you out of here, now that the police will be searching for you.'

Percy threw a look over his shoulder, back at the burning school. Was he thinking about Rachel? Then he looked at me very seriously. 'You're right. We have to get to Camp Half-Blood. _Now._ '

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

 **A/N** : You guys have been clamouring for jealous!Annabeth for a while now … hopefully this chapter has delivered!

The spinning of the room with the doors is an idea inspired by (or blatantly stolen from, lol) the Department of Mysteries in _Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix_. I kind of feel like there's some potential crossover there when it comes to magical mazes!

The quote, 'any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic,' is of course from Arthur Clarke.

Thank you **Hello, JustADerangedFanGirl, Thunderwolf7226, SG2000, CQ816, MariaClaire, Athenachild101** **BooksAndHotChocolate** for sharing your thoughts last chapter, and asking after my holiday. I'm back, it was lovely, and down to work and 'real life' now, but still very much committed to this fic! Especially now we're properly into BotL territory ...

 **ETA:** Big thanks to **GreekGeek6** from Ao3 for catching the error in the Sphinx's riddle—it's obviously four legs in the morning, not three!


	7. Grover Gets An Ultimatum

Chapter 7: Grover Gets An Ultimatum

Percy insisted we go straight to camp, so I flagged down a cab. Argus had given me enough money to cover it easily. Had he guessed that something like this might happen?

On the way to Long Island, Percy repeated his story about the _empousai_ in his school. 'They said camp is going to go up in flames. And Kronos is going to enslave everyone.'

I didn't like the idea of _empousai_ in Manhattan. They were ancient demons, as old as the Titans. It fit with my mother's warning: _The ancient sea demons have returned to plague us, and I fear even more are on the loose. They will march on Long Island soon._

Then something else occurred to me, something that I wished I'd thought of earlier. I could have looked into it before I met up with Percy. When Clarisse had been on her scouting mission last year, she'd been stuck in the Labyrinth for months before she finally popped out in Manhattan. What if it was that same entrance that the Titan army was searching for?

It was a moment before I realised Percy was asking me a question. 'Er, what?'

'I said, how did it go in San Francisco?'

'Oh, uh, okay. Lots of monsters.'

If the Titans could use the Labyrinth, they'd be able to get their entire army from San Francisco to New York in no time at all. They'd be right on our doorstep … and at the very entrance to Olympus. Even if they couldn't get through our magical barriers, it was still bad news.

I had to talk to Clarisse about this.

Percy waved a hand in front of my face. I blinked.

'Did you see any sign of Nico?'

It took me another second to remember who he was talking about: Nico di Angelo, who'd run off from camp after his sister, Bianca, had died on the quest to save Artemis. To save me. Nico, the son of Hades, the other Big Three kid who could take on the Great Prophecy. I'd been right that Percy was still adamant about keeping him safe. I wasn't sure why he felt so responsible for Nico. Especially since I was the one who had cost the kid his sister.

'No,' I said. 'I only brought one half-blood back to camp this spring, and she was a daughter of Hecate.'

'You've been back to camp since Christmas?'

'Twice.' The first time, I'd brought in Lou Ellen after a disastrous class trip to Alcatraz. The second, my dad had come back for a presentation at West Point and I'd coaxed him into taking me along.

'You came to New York _twice_ and you didn't tell me?'

My jaw dropped. It wasn't like I hadn't tried to IM him at the time. How was it _my_ fault he had to cut off our IM? _He_ was the one who'd been hanging out with a mortal.

Just like he'd been with his new mortal girlfriend today.

I crossed my arms and stared out of the window. I couldn't get to camp soon enough. But there were massive pile-ups on all the main roads. Our cab tried a few side streets and finally crawled over the Brooklyn Bridge onto Long Island.

Percy cleared his throat. 'Any word on _Luke?_ '

He probably didn't mean it to sound like a dig at me, but it felt like one. I shook my head. The last thing I wanted to discuss was Luke's visit to my house. Or how his parting words about Percy seemed to hit home right now.

 _He'll never be what you need, Annabeth._

'Nothing?' Percy pressed. 'Did you see him on Mount Tam? You said you were going to keep an eye on it.'

I pressed my lips together and took a deep breath. If I told Percy about Luke's visit, he would just say it was another trap. He'd never believe there was a chance Luke might really want to leave Kronos.

And anyway, I hadn't gone with Luke, so what did it matter?

'Mount Tam is overrun with monsters,' I said finally. I told Percy how hard it was to get close. 'But I don't think Luke is up there.' I wished I could believe he'd run so far away that Kronos would never find him.

Percy looked at me expectantly.

'I think I would know if he was,' I finished lamely. My fingers played with the beads on my camp necklace, shifting them one by one through the college ring, and back across.

Percy finally picked up on my reluctance to discuss Luke and changed the subject. 'What about Grover?'

'He's at camp. We'll see him today.'

'Did he have any luck? I mean, with the search for Pan?'

It looked like we'd make Grover's hearing this afternoon after all. I guess that was one good thing about our ruined plans. This didn't really make me feel better about it, though.

'You'll see,' I told Percy, and turned away, still playing with my necklace. It was best that Grover explained things to him.

We were passing through Flatbush just then, the district where Luke, Grover, Thalia, and I had nearly become a Cyclop's dinner. I still remembered the trap. I had crept through the dark mansion alone, clutching my dagger for dear life, terrified that I would have to use it like Luke had taught me, because he and Thalia had already been caught. How the dark hallways had seemed like a maze.

A maze.

Everything seemed to come back to the Labyrinth these days.

I went through another full row of beads through my ring. Percy stared at his hands, where the mortal girl, Rachel, had scrawled her number. I was about to tell him about Clarisse's theory, that Pan was in the Labyrinth, but the sight of the big, black numbers froze my tongue.

'Can I borrow your cell phone?'

I stared at Percy in disbelief. Was he longing for Rachel's company already? My stomach churned. It probably didn't help that I hadn't eaten all day.

'To call my mom,' he said quickly.

I found my phone and tossed it over without a word. I heard him dial and leave a message on the answering machine at home, explaining his run-in with two _empousai_ at the orientation, and how one of them had tricked him into blowing up the band room. He apologised to some guy named Paul—probably his mom's boyfriend. I guess they still hadn't told him about Percy's double life.

He didn't mention Rachel at all, which made me feel a little better.

I spent the rest of our taxi ride trying to organise my frazzled thoughts. Luke, the Labyrinth, Manhattan, monsters, Pan, Ariadne … Every time I glanced at Percy, Rachel's phone number on his hand threw my thoughts back into disarray, so I stopped looking at him and just focused on making a mental list of things that I needed to do.

When we got to camp, I went straight for the first thing on my list: find Clarisse and ask about the Manhattan Labyrinth entrance. That would lead to bullet point number two: talk to Grover before his hearing.

I left Percy to get himself settled into his cabin (and shower off the monster dust; he'd also better have washed his hands well before I next saw him). The Ares cabin were out in the archery field with Chiron and Lee, so I jogged out there in search of Clarisse.

Chiron paused the lesson when he saw me running up to them. 'Annabeth! You're back already?'

'Percy and I came straight to camp.' I paused, not wanting to go into the reason why Percy and I had cancelled our afternoon. Well, part of the reason. 'He ran into _empousai_ at his school. They—'

Chiron slung his bow over his shoulder, looking alarmed. 'I must speak with him.' He didn't wait for me to finish before he galloped off towards the cabins.

Clarisse smirked at me. 'Prissy called off your date?'

'It wasn't a _date._ '

'Whatever.'

I waved at Lee to let him know I was borrowing Clarisse. He nodded and went back to getting the Ares group to shoot straight. Or trying to, at least.

'Clarisse, last winter—when you found your way out of the Labyrinth, you ended up in Manhattan.'

Clarisse made a face. 'Yeah, what about it?'

'Where was the exit?'

She narrowed her eyes. 'Why do you want to know?'

'I thought that might be what Kronos's army is searching for. It'd get them right into the city.'

Clarisse toyed with the arrow in her hand. 'You know what I think?'

'What?'

'We need to send our own scouts, like Luke was doing. And I know just who would be perfect.'

As if on cue, Grover came down the path, accompanied by Juniper, who was clutching his arm and looking tearful. He looked like he was trying to pass a kidney stone.

'Grover? You've got to be kidding. You saw the way he reacted before.'

'He wants to find Pan, right? It's time he got creative about where he looks.' Clarisse raised her voice. 'Hey, Goat Boy!'

Grover looked up. 'Are you two coming to the hearing?'

'The hearing—that's now?'

'It was brought forward,' Juniper said. 'The Council wanted to get it over with before lunch.'

'What hearing?' Clarisse asked.

'The Council of Cloven Elders,' I explained. 'They're not happy that Grover hasn't found Pan yet.'

We fell in step with Grover and Juniper, heading into the woods where the satyr council gathered.

'I told you,' Clarisse said. 'You should look underground.'

Grover reacted pretty much the way I expected him to. 'No way. Uh-uh. Pan isn't in the Labyrinth.'

'Well, how do you know?'

'Wait, you were serious about that? You want Grover to—to look for Pan in the Labyrinth?' Juniper looked stricken. 'You can't do that! He'll never come back alive!'

'Don't be so dramatic,' Clarisse said. 'No one's died in there.'

'Oh yeah? What about all the Athenians Minos killed? What about Theseus?'

'Theseus didn't die,' I reminded him. I didn't like to agree with Clarisse, but this was one of the rare occasions that her idea had merit. 'And you've already faced worse. Remember Polyphemus?'

For a second, Grover almost seemed convinced. Then his face fell. 'It doesn't matter anyway. If the Council votes against me today, it'll be all over. I won't have a searcher's license any more.'

We reached the clearing in the woods where three rose bushes trimmed in the shape of thrones were assembled. A few satyrs had already arrived. They cast Grover sympathetic looks as they took their places, forming a seated circle around the topiary thrones.

Grover gulped. The Council began to gather: a couple of nymphs, all the camp satyrs, including the three oldest ones. They were so senior that they rarely came into camp, preferring to hang out all day in the woods, drinking and sleeping. Fat as they were, they looked like they were rolling towards their thrones instead of walking. The bushes creaked under their weight when they took their seats.

Juniper clutched my arm. I patted her awkwardly on the back.

'We are gathered here today to discuss the matter of one Grover Underwood,' said the chief satyr. 'Searcher's license number four hundred and sixty-five.'

Grover stepped forward into the circle of satyrs. 'Master Silenus. Master Leneus. Master Maron.' He bowed low.

'What have you to say for yourself, Master Underwood?' Leneus asked. He had a reedy voice, like a note drawn out too long on the pipes.

Grover launched into his story, starting from the very beginning of his search, when he'd been side-tracked by the Cyclops Polyphemus.

'No, no,' Maron said impatiently. 'We have heard enough of your defeat of the Cyclops. All that nauseating bravery. We're interested in what you've found since then.'

'Well, in December, I was in New Mexico and I swear, I felt the spirit of Pan. He sent us a gift—a boar.'

Silenus leaned forward. 'And you followed the trail, naturally?'

'Um … no. I was with the Hunters and Percy. We had a quest, and—'

'And you deemed this more important than the quest you swore yourself to complete?' Leneus said.

Juniper started to cry. 'They're not even listening to him!'

'Shh,' Clarisse said.

'I went back after,' Grover continued doggedly. 'All spring I've been returning to the desert, trying to pick up the scent.'

'But you admit you failed.' Maron crossed his arms over his ample belly. 'You missed your chance in the winter.'

'It's going terribly,' Juniper sniffed. She produced a leafy handkerchief and blew her nose.

'No, no, he'll be fine, Juniper,' I assured her. Grover hadn't told them yet about Pan speaking to him. Once they heard that, they'd have to change their minds.

The soft clop of hooves made me look up. Chiron had arrived—and he'd brought Percy along. Percy slid off Chiron's back, landing next to Clarisse. She gave him a distasteful sidewise look. He stuck his tongue out at her.

His eyes fell on me and Juniper and his brows knit together in confusion. I realised he probably hadn't met Juniper yet. She and Grover had gotten together when he'd been away from camp. I mouthed a quick explanation to him before turning back to the hearing.

'But I heard him after,' Grover was saying. 'When we got back from our quest. He spoke to me—he told me—'

Silenus cut him off with a roar. 'Master Underwood! Do you seriously expect us to believe this?'

Grover looked taken aback by the ferocity of Silenus's objection. 'But Silenus—it's the truth!'

Chiron frowned and trotted into the circle, right up to the Council Elders. The three satyrs ignored him, muttering among themselves, but they didn't send him away. Chiron had an honorary place on the Council. I hoped he'd be able to talk some sense into the old satyrs.

'As if the wild god would speak to … to _him,_ ' Maron spluttered. There was a high, intense colour in his pudgy cheeks.

He was jealous. They all were. This council wasn't so much about Grover's failure to locate Pan as it was about the fact that they couldn't accept who Pan had chosen to speak to.

Juniper's fists came up, like she was eager to land them in Maron's sizeable gut. She even stepped towards him. I took her shoulder. Clarisse grabbed her by the arm. 'Wrong fight, girlie. Wait.'

Our eyes met and I knew we shared the same idea. Pulverising the council would only make things worse for Grover. And if we wanted Grover to consider searching for Pan in the Labyrinth, he had to keep his searcher's license.

In the end, it was Chiron who turned the tables for Grover. The Council Elders were on the verge of stripping Grover of his license when Chiron convinced them to give him one more week.

One week. It was almost impossible. But at least it was another chance. And maybe Clarisse's idea might just work.

The council adjourned, going straight to lunch right there in the clearing. Grover had no appetite, however. He wove through the broken circle of satyrs, who were descending on the food as quickly as the serving nymphs could bring it out. His head hung in shame and despair as he came to stand before us.

'Hi, Percy,' he said, noticing Percy's arrival. 'That went well, huh?'

Juniper flung her arms around Grover. 'Those old goats! Oh, Grover, they don't know how hard you've tried!'

Clarisse gave Grover a significant look. 'There is another option.'

Grover looked nearly desperate enough to consider it, but Juniper protested, 'I won't let you!'

Grover pulled away from her and took a deep breath. 'I—I'll have to think about it. But …' He looked at me, his expression pleading, as though hoping I had another idea. 'We don't even know where to look.'

Percy held his hands up like, _whoa, slow down._ 'What are you talking about?'

I was about to explain when a conch horn sounded, coming from the cabin area. I groaned inwardly. It just _had_ to be cabin inspection time now. And my maps were lying all over my desk.

I promised to fill Percy in later. Right now, I had to get my stuff cleaned up.

Fortunately, cabin six was in the middle of the green, so inspection never started with us. Silena Beauregard was taking her clipboard into Dionysus cabin, which gave me time to stuff away my discarded clothes, arrange my papers into a neat pile on my desk, and take the trash out to burn in the hearth fire.

The cabin area was full of the usual flurry of activity that always accompanied inspection time. The Demeter kids had grown out new daisies in their planter boxes and redone the honeysuckle climbing their walls. The breeze blew their scent all over the green. Hermes was probably going to get last place, judging from the swearing over at cabin eleven. Next to them, weird creaks and groans were coming from Hephaestus cabin.

Beckendorf's voice rose over the din. 'Come on, guys, don't make me look bad at inspection.'

I heard Jake Mason snicker. 'Sure it's _inspection_ you don't want to look bad for?'

A piece of paper flew out of their cabin door, caught on the wind. It fluttered across the central hearth and plastered against my cabin's wall. Malcolm peeled it off. It was one of those DVD-case inserts, probably from someone's movie collection.

'Pan's Labyrinth,' he read.

A jolt went through me. 'What?'

He held up the movie insert. Sure enough, that was the title of the movie, printed in gilded letters across the picture of a bone-white face with massive goat horns. It might have been a satyr, but if so, he was the weirdest-looking satyr I'd ever seen, with gnarled limbs like tree bark and fingers like branches. In his hands was a sharp, pointed dagger.

I took the insert from Malcolm and headed across to cabin nine. Nyssa Barrera was on her hands and knees on the porch, scrubbing at an oil stain leaking out from the door.

'Hey,' I said, 'did this come from one of you?'

Nyssa glanced up. 'Oh—yeah, it's mine. How did it—oh _no!_ ' She whirled around, saw a pile of letters strewn across the porch steps, and slapped her forehead, leaving a black smudge on it. 'I thought I put something heavy on those …'

I helped her pick up her letters and shuffle them into a pile. 'Do you have the movie for this?'

'Huh? Oh, Pan's Labyrinth?' She shook her head. 'I lost the DVD a while back. I only kept the cover because my mom worked on its animation.'

'Animation?'

'My mom makes special effects for movies.' She indicated the weird satyr on the insert. 'She did that. Asked me a ton of questions about satyrs beforehand.'

'Do you know what the movie's about?'

'Some fantasy stuff. I wasn't really supposed to watch it.' She pointed to a sticker on the insert that said, _rated R—graphic violence and some language,_ and winked. 'But I wanted to see the special effects.' She scrunched up her face. 'Let's see … I think there was a maze that led to the Underworld, and a satyr guide, and the main character had this big choice to make at the end. Then she died.'

I shivered.

'Yeah,' Nyssa said cheerfully. 'Not something you want to watch at night.'

I guess it didn't really matter what the movie was about. It was the insert itself that felt like a sign.

'Do you mind if I borrow this?'

Nyssa shrugged. 'Sure. I don't really need it.' Then she blanched. Silena was approaching and she was eyeing the oil stain on the porch with disapproval.

I thanked Nyssa and left them to the inspection.

Grover went pale when I showed him, Clarisse, and Chiron the insert. We'd gathered in Chiron's office after lunch. Grover looked ready to throw up tin cans all over the carpet.

'That's … just a movie, right?' he said pleadingly. 'I mean, it's not like it's real or anything …'

'But stories develop from archetypes,' I said. 'Even if it only follows a trope, that means the idea already exists in civilisation. Right?'

I looked to Chiron for confirmation. He made a steeple with his fingers under his chin and nodded.

'Annabeth is right. If the mortals have the idea that Pan is associated with a labyrinth, then that must have taken root somewhere in the collective unconscious.'

Grover played with the corner of the insert. 'But Pan disappeared two thousand years ago. The Labyrinth—'

'It's been here all along,' Clarisse said. She looked at me. 'Isn't that what that professor friend of yours told us last year?'

I nodded. 'It's been growing under civilisation for thousands of years. The inventor, Daedalus—' A new thought hit me. 'He disappeared two thousand years ago, but there's no record of him being _dead._ It's like he just vanished off the island of Sicily. What if—what if he's _in_ the Labyrinth? He had a workshop inside.' I visualised the large, open-air room from my dreams, filled with inventions and automatons. 'What if he found Pan and that's how he's kept the whole thing going? I mean, everything we've found out about it—the way it moves, the way it reads people's minds … it has to have its own life force to do all of that.'

'So this inventor dude's got Pan trapped?' Clarisse said sceptically.

'Not _trapped,_ more like a partnership. Daedalus wouldn't do that. He's supposed to be really wise.' The more I examined the idea, the more I liked it. 'Grover, think about it. You could find Pan _and_ Daedalus!'

Grover tore off the corner of the _Pan's Labyrinth_ insert and put it in his mouth. 'Underground … how would I even know where to start looking? My senses don't work right down there!'

'I'll go with you. I've been studying the Labyrinth all year. I think I could try to navigate it. If we start with the entrance in Manhattan—'

'Hold on,' Chiron interrupted. 'Annabeth, you're not just talking about Grover's search any more. What you're suggesting is a quest.'

'Well, why not? It's perfect. And I could lead it. You know I'm ready.'

Chiron shook his head. 'You know this is not how it works, child. A quest must have a specific purpose.'

'Pan—'

'Is _Grover's_ quest.'

'Well, if Kronos is trying to use the Labyrinth, we could stop him if we made it work for us instead.'

'Work for us,' Clarisse snorted. 'A trap that tricks you, fools you, and leads you to your death.'

'That makes me _real_ keen to go inside,' Grover muttered. Another corner of the DVD insert disappeared into his mouth.

'This was your idea in the first place,' I reminded Clarisse. 'You were the one who thought Pan was in the Labyrinth.'

'Yeah, but I didn't mean one of us should go in there. It's different for Grover. He's not a human.'

'Thanks a lot.'

She rolled her eyes. 'You know what I mean, Goat Boy.'

'I agree with Clarisse,' Chiron said, which had to be a first. 'Grover, this may actually be the best option for you. But as for a quest … it's too dangerous. Remember last year, when Luke tried to use you to retrieve the Golden Fleece. All we have ascertained from Chris is that Luke has sent scouts into the Labyrinth. His true purpose is yet unclear. It could be another trap, a trick to entice campers into the maze and pick us off one by one.'

'But Luke—' I stopped. I hadn't told anyone about Luke's visit and I wasn't sure it was a good idea to. If Chiron thought Luke had been setting a trap in the Labyrinth, he wasn't likely to believe Luke was sincere in wanting to leave Kronos.

 _I_ wasn't even sure if he was sincere.

'I'm sorry, Annabeth. I know you want to lead a quest, but unless we are certain that the Labyrinth is a direct threat to camp, I don't think it's a good idea.'

I sighed. 'Fine. It was just a thought.'

Chiron smiled tightly. 'A good one, except it is perhaps not the right time. But for Grover … I think you should consider the girls' idea.'

Grover chewed up the rest of the _Pan's Labyrinth_ insert. 'I—I—okay, fine, I'll _think_ about it. Can I go now? I promised Juniper I'd help her trim her branches.'

Clarisse shook her head. 'She's just going to talk him back out of it.'

'Well,' said Chiron, 'then maybe we'll have to try a different approach.'

I took a walk out to the canoe lake after leaving the Big House. To my delight, Tyson had arrived. He and Percy were hanging out by the dock, swapping stories about their year. I was so happy to see him, I forgot I was mad at Percy and sat down beside them. I kicked off my shoes and let my bare feet skim the surface of the clear water. Tyson regaled us with Poseidon's underwater battles against the ocean Titans.

'Daddy is trying to sink the bad ship,' he said, referring to Luke's monster cruise ship, the _Princess Andromeda._ 'But bad Titans are getting in the way. They are coming with big weapons. Make things go BOOM!'

'Who's making their weapons?' Percy asked. 'Are there Cyclopes on their side, too?'

Tyson shook his head. 'Bad monsters,' he said. 'Older than Cyclopes.'

I wondered if they were the ancient sea demons my mother had talked about. I didn't like the sound of them.

'Gods cannot find them,' Tyson continued. 'They are hidden good.'

'Like Pan,' I said, thinking of Grover's hearing. Was finding Pan really the key?

One of the naiads drifted up to the surface and blew Percy and Tyson a flirtatious kiss. Tyson blushed, but Percy didn't seem to notice.

'What's this "other way"?' he asked. 'The thing Clarisse mentioned?'

I skipped a stone across the lake. The naiad gave me a dirty look and dove back into the water's depths. I started to tell Percy about Clarisse's scouting mission, but the moment I mentioned Grover's name, Tyson cringed.

'Goat boy scares me.'

I raised my eyebrows. This was the first I'd heard about Tyson's aversion to satyrs. It was true that Tyson was scared of a lot of things you wouldn't imagine would frighten a Cyclops: monsters, bullies, scary campfire stories … But Grover? He was the least terrifying person I could think of. Well, unless you got between him and an enchilada.

Tyson muttered something about hooves, horns, and allergies.

'Well, we're trying to convince Grover that Pan—' I began, but Tyson shook his head frantically, his eyes wide. The mere mention of the satyr god seemed to be as bad as a horror story to him.

Percy caught my eye. His expression clearly said, _let's talk about something else._

I sighed. 'Beckendorf's gonna be happy to see you. He's been making weapons all week.'

Tyson perked up. 'We went to the forges! Made axes!'

OoOoO

I thought I'd get the chance to tell Percy about the Labyrinth after dinner, but I was ambushed by Silena Beauregard, who drew me into a discussion on defensive strategy. This was weird for two reasons. First, Silena wasn't exactly a good strategist (daughters of Aphrodite tend to think of 'strategy' as the best way to make guys notice you). Second, when I gave her a run-down of our plans, her eyes went out of focus, like she was trying to pay attention in a class that was too hard for her.

I patted her arm. 'Look—don't worry too much about it, okay? We all took point on something different for a reason. You're doing a great job keeping the schedules and stuff going so the rest of us don't have to worry about it.'

Silena smiled nervously. Her left hand worried at the bracelet around her wrist. 'I just feel like I need to do more.'

Beckendorf came over just then. 'Silena,' he said in his deep voice, 'I wanted to make a batch of battle armour for the pegasi. You think you could help me fit them?'

Silena brightened and gave him a much more genuine smile. 'Yeah, definitely.'

They headed off together in the direction of the stables. Silena's worries continued to nag at me. The threat of war was definitely taking a toll on us all. It strengthened my resolve to find a solution to face Kronos.

That night, I dreamt myself back on the barren cliff where the ancient Labyrinth stood outside the palace of Crete. Daedalus and Ariadne emerged from the maze. Its walls towered over them, stretching into the night sky.

'So that's it, then,' Ariadne said. She was older now, maybe my age or so. Her hair was woven into an intricate braid that wound around her head like a coronet.

'Yes,' Daedalus said. 'It is finished.'

'Excellent,' boomed a voice. Minos was walking down the cliff path. Behind him, flanked by heavily armed soldiers, was the Minotaur—Asterion. He was just a calf, his body lean and muscled. His horns were short and stubby, a bit like Grover's. There was a leash around his neck and chains on his wrists and ankles. He gave Ariadne a panicked look and lowed softly.

'Bring the beast,' Minos commanded.

Ariadne stepped in front of him. 'Papa, no! You can't do this!'

Minos's eyes glinted with malice. 'Was it not you who said he should have a home in the maze?'

Asterion's cow-eyes grew impossibly huge. He stared at Ariadne like she'd stabbed him in the gut.

'That was before I knew you meant to lock him up and—and feed people to him! He's not your executioner!'

'He is a monster.' Minos's tone was hard and unforgiving. 'He shall earn his keep.' He turned to the soldiers. 'Throw him in.'

The Labyrinth doors opened. Asterion struggled, but the guards forced him inside at spear point.

'He's my brother!' Ariadne shouted. 'He's your son!'

'He's no son of mine,' Minos sneered. 'Not another word from you, or you'll join him in there.'

'But—'

Daedalus clapped a hand over Ariadne's mouth, cutting off her protests. The doors of the Labyrinth clanged shut. Minos looked at it in satisfaction.

'The first prisoners will be ready to enter tomorrow morning,' he said. 'We'll see if anyone dares to mock me after this.'

Daedalus only let go of Ariadne after Minos and his soldiers had left.

'How could you?' Ariadne shouted. 'You knew from the start—you built the maze knowing that Papa was going to lock him away in it!'

Daedalus looked at her sadly. 'I had no choice, Princess. Your father would have killed me. He has never forgiven me for the indignity of your brother's birth.'

Ariadne burst into tears. 'He's going to starve, or—or worse!'

'Listen to me, Princess.' Daedalus took her hands. 'We can do nothing now. But one day, if you are clever enough, and brave enough, you may still save him.' He pressed the compass he had used previously to navigate inside the Labyrinth into her hands.

They both looked at the barred doors, now leading into a true prison. From inside came an angry, agonised howl.

My dream shifted. I was in a dark tunnel, following the Princess Ariadne as she felt her way along the Labyrinth walls. Her dim lantern illuminated rusty streaks along the wall. A corpse lay in the passageway. Half its body was caught in one of the giant mousetraps I'd seen before in Daedalus's workshop.

Ariadne shuddered and moved on.

'Asterion!' she called. 'Where are you?'

The Minotaur stepped out from around a blind corner. He had nearly doubled in size since the earlier scene. Thick muscle encircled his arms and legs. His horns were curved and wickedly sharp. There was matted blood in his fur and his breath stank of rotten flesh. If I'd been Ariadne, I would have run as fast as I could in the other direction. This beast was clearly not the same half-human brother she'd befriended. The look in his eyes said, _snack,_ rather than, _sister._

But Ariadne hummed a stanza of her old lullaby. The Minotaur froze. He blinked and the ferocious glare in his eyes softened. Ariadne went to him and embraced him. Slowly, he returned her hug.

'I'm sorry it's been so long since my last visit,' Ariadne said. 'Father had the guards doubled since the war with Athens. I had to bribe them with wine to get them to leave for even a minute. So there's none left to drink, I'm afraid. But I brought you some fruit.' She held up a basket.

Asterion backed away and hung his head.

'What—oh _no._ You didn't … Asterion, you have to hold on! I told you, I'll bring you food whenever I can. Father may send all the prisoners he wants in here, but we'll let the maze take care of them. We won't let you become a monster. _I_ won't let it happen to you.'

Asterion let out a desperate, guttural cry. Tears leaked out of his big, brown eyes. Ariadne's gaze travelled up his arm to a deep gash in his shoulder.

'They found you,' she whispered. 'They …' She touched the cut. 'They tried to kill you, didn't they? I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I know you didn't mean to. I'm going to find a way to help you. I don't know how long it's going to take, or when I can be back, but you need to hold on until I can find out how to get you out of here, okay? You need to remember who you are! Promise me!'

She embraced her brother again. Then she left him her basket of fruit and headed off into the Labyrinth again. I followed, but she disappeared around a corner, leaving me in the dark.

'Where _are_ we?' The voice made me jump. It was Percy, holding up his sword, Riptide. His green eyes reflected off the glow of his blade. 'Where did you bring me, Annabeth?'

'The Labyrinth, of course,' I said. A map appeared in my hands, crinkled and old. The walls came to life around us with flames dancing in bronze braziers. 'We're going to find Luke. He's in here.' The words found their way into my mouth, confident and assured.

'You didn't tell me that,' Percy said accusingly.

I clenched my fists. 'If you don't want to help …'

'No …' Percy spread his arms. 'It's this place—we're lost and I have no clue where we are.'

I squinted at my map. 'We're not lost. I have a map.'

'We're lost,' Percy insisted. 'Why didn't you tell me we were coming here? I could have helped. How am I supposed to help you when you never tell me anything?'

I opened my mouth to protest, but at that moment, a massive shadow fell across our path. Heavy footsteps pounded in the passage just beyond, making the ground shake. I almost screamed, thinking of the Minotaur.

But it was just Tyson. He barrelled around the corner, wringing his hands. 'Goat Boy needs help!' he yelled.

We ran after him. Tyson led us down the passage to a room that was no bigger than a prison cell. The walls here were ancient, the marble cracked and weathered with crust and pits. There was a strong smell of fresh earth, although I could only see stone.

Grover was on his knees, feeling the wall with his hands. 'Can't you sense it?' he said. 'I'm so close.'

I reached out to touch the wall. It had a shuddering pulse, like the maze was breathing in and out.

'Something's keeping it alive,' Grover said.

'Pan?' Percy asked.

A voice seemed to come from deep within the stone. 'Or its creator.'

I pressed my ear right up against the wall, trying to hear better. 'Find Daedalus,' said the voice. It was high and cold and seemed to cast a layer of ice over the stone. 'He has the answers.'

'But, my lord—Daedalus is …' It was Luke's voice now, trembling and hesitant.

'Dead?' Kronos snorted in amusement. 'The crafty inventor has evaded the judgement of Hades for centuries. He hides in his Labyrinth, but if we can find him, the final piece of the puzzle will be complete. I shall have all I need to march on that pestilent camp of heroes.'

Luke gulped. 'Yes, my lord.'

'But what's this? We have eavesdroppers …'

I pulled my ear away from the wall, certain that he had sensed me. Kronos's voice continued to seep softly through the cracks.

'Very well—they wish to spy on us? We will send them a little playmate to keep them busy.'

Kronos's laughter shook the walls. A tiny depression formed in the marble, right under my fingers. The blue _Delta_ of Daedalus appeared and the wall melted away. So did the floor. It was dripping out from under my feet like hot wax.

Percy yelled. We were falling through the air, plummeting into nothingness …

I landed in my bed with a thud. My heart was racing, my head full of questions.

Outside, the moon was a large, round lamp. I was staring at it, trying to make sense of what I'd seen and heard in my dream, when a shadow blotted out its light.

Something was outside. Something big.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

 **A/N** : And we all know what's waiting outside, right? ;)

So, I actually went to watch _Pan's Labyrinth_ because I was writing this fic, and well, research! (Also, foreign-language film!) Spoilers for the movie in this chapter, though since it's a movie from 10 years ago, I think we're well past the spoiler embargo period. I do _not_ recommend it to most readers though, especially if you're under 18 (or 21!) because it deserves its R rating; not because of sexual content, but because it has _really_ dark themes. It's set in the Spanish war, and doesn't shy away from the violence. So, fair warning. But that being said, it was a very haunting film and I really appreciated its artistry. Excellent soundtrack as well!

Big thank you's going round this week to **Hello, OverLordRevan, JustADerangedFanGirl, sharon, Thunderwolf7226, SG2000, CQ816, TheChasm,** and **ArtimuosJackson** for sending along your comments! I'm sorry I'm so much more delayed in replying and stuff these days. The uni term begins next week, so there's loads of stuff to plan for, and I'm officially into third year and have my thesis to produce *eep* so yeah. But I am still keeping up with this series, don't worry!


	8. Our Hide And Seek Game Goes Wrong

Chapter 8: Our Hide And Seek Game Goes Wrong

Lee Fletcher was on night watch. I found him standing on the porch of the Big House, peering up at the massive shadow hovering in the sky. He looked relieved to see me.

'It's been hanging around for fifteen minutes,' he said. 'It hasn't attacked or anything, so I don't know if it's worth sounding the alarm, but it's seriously creeping me out.'

'We should probably get a closer look,' I said.

Lee and I crept up Half-Blood Hill. At the crest, just beyond the property line, Peleus was growling at the monster—a serpent at least thirty feet long. It looped around the camp perimeter like it was doing an aerial recon. When it swooped back over Thalia's tree, I got a good look at its hideous, reptilian body: gleaming bronze scales, bright green eyes the size of dinner plates, and rows of sharp teeth. It ran up against the barrier and was forced to shoot upwards, climbing towards the moon.

'An Aethiopian drakon!' I'd seen pictures before, but this was the first time I'd seen one up close.

'How do we get rid of it?' Lee asked.

I tried to recall if there were any clues from the old stories about ancient Aethiopian monsters. Perseus had slain Cetus with Medusa's head. Oedipus had tackled the Sphinx by outsmarting her iconic riddle. I didn't think either of those methods was an option with this beast.

The drakon did another loop and came in for an assault on the barriers. Peleus blew a mouthful of flames at it, but the drakon just charged through the fire and snapped at him. Peleus whined and cowered behind Thalia's pine. The drakon hit the barrier and bounced halfway down the hill. I hoped the barrier had fried it, but the drakon just picked itself up and launched back into the air.

'Maybe it'll go away once it realises it can't get in,' Lee said hopefully.

'I don't think so. Look.' I pointed to the drakon's body. What I had taken for scales were actually plated bronze armour. The skin that peeked out between the armour plates was a radioactive acid green.

Random monsters didn't wear armour like this.

 _We will send them a little playmate to keep them busy._

I grimaced. 'We need to take it down. Aerial combat—that means arrows. Get your siblings.'

A few minutes later, the entire Apollo cabin was gathered, yawning and still in their pyjamas. They fired a volley of warning shots, but the drakon simply bared its teeth and continued looping the camp perimeter.

'We need to show it we actually mean business,' Lee said. 'Get it in the hide.'

'It keeps blocking the light,' Michael Yew complained. 'How are we supposed to aim when we can't see?'

'I got this,' I said. There was a big spotlight in the camp store. Within minutes, I had jimmied the lock (a handy trick Luke had taught me long ago). Will Solace helped me lug the spotlight to the top of Half-Blood Hill. There, I shone the beam over the crest while Apollo's archers took their positions again.

This time, their aim was flawless. They'd obviously been practising hard. The arrows lodged right in the chinks of the drakon's armour.

The monster's roar shook the entire valley. Its hide was clearly made of strong stuff because it didn't disintegrate. It took three rounds of arrows before the drakon finally turned and flew off into the distance.

Several of the archers cheered. I wasn't quite so jubilant. The only thing that had kept the drakon from decimating the valley was our magical barrier. Our best efforts at fighting it off had merely annoyed it. Now, it was probably off to report our weaknesses to Kronos.

To Luke.

If he had a whole army of monsters that were this resistant to attack, we'd be crushed the instant they found a way around the Fleece's protection.

I didn't get much sleep the rest of the night. Half the camp had been roused by the drakon's roar, and it took a while to reassure everyone that we were no longer under attack. By breakfast time, I was ready to collapse into bed again.

As I revived over my second cup of strong, black coffee, I noticed Chiron leading Grover over to the Poseidon table. Tyson got up abruptly and left. I caught him as he passed my table and asked him what was going on.

'Pony man wants goat boy to talk to Percy,' he said, with a nervous glance back at his table.

Chiron patted Grover's shoulder and left him sitting glumly next to Percy. I could think of only one reason why Chiron would have urged him to chat with Percy right away.

I couldn't be left out of this discussion. Especially not after my dream last night.

 _How am I supposed to help you if you don't tell me anything?_

There were strict rules against campers switching tables at mealtimes, but Chiron had already left the pavilion. Mr D wasn't around. The only adult left was Quintus, who'd only been here a week. He probably wouldn't make a fuss if I swapped tables for just a little while.

My mind made up, I got up and went to table three.

'What's he talking about?' Percy was asking Grover.

Grover didn't look keen on the conversation. 'He wants you to convince me.'

I broke in. 'I'll tell you what it's about—the Labyrinth.'

They both looked up. Grover gave me a pained look. Percy's eyes darted from me to the Athena table and back again.

'You're not supposed to be here,' he hissed.

I resisted the urge to hit him in the shoulder. 'We need to talk.'

'But the rules …'

I raised my eyebrows. I knew for a fact that Percy had contraband snacks stashed away in his cabin. Who was he to get all judgey on me about rules? The tops of his ears turned pink. He stared at his breakfast plate.

'Look, Grover is in trouble. There's only one way we can figure to help him. It's the Labyrinth. That's what Clarisse and I have been investigating.'

I told him everything we'd learnt about the Labyrinth so far: how it stretched underground, connecting cities from coast to coast, acting as a shortcut to anywhere in the world. Halfway through this, I glanced at Clarisse. The other kids at the Ares table were whispering and pointing at us like we were a big joke, but Clarisse met my eyes with an expression that said, _great, do we really have to get him involved?_ I shrugged. She looked back at her food.

I lowered my voice to a whisper and explained the rest of it: Chris turning up in Phoenix, completely insane and obsessed about Ariadne's string; how we'd deduced that Luke had been exploring the maze, but we still didn't know why; and how the Labyrinth could be the key to Grover's problem.

Predictably, Grover's stance on the matter hadn't changed. 'I can't do it. Just thinking about it makes me want to throw up my silverware.'

'Grover, it may be your last chance,' I reminded him. 'The council is serious.' They'd threatened to make him learn to tap dance if he didn't succeed within the week.

There was a loud _ahem_ from the head table. Quintus was looking right at us. I guess he knew about the no-table-swaps rule after all.

I squeezed Percy's arm as I got up. 'We'll talk later. Convince him, will you?' I jerked my head towards Grover.

My siblings were all staring at me when I returned to my table.

'What?' I said, frowning.

They exchanged knowing looks. Malcolm cleared his throat.

'Well, um …' His eyes darted to Percy's table and back. 'You …'

I rolled my eyes. 'It was _important._ '

'If you say so,' Malcolm said.

We held our first capture the flag of the summer that evening. All the head counsellors had made the usual cabin alliances, but it turned out that Chiron and Quintus had other plans.

'You will be in teams of two, which have already been chosen,' Quintus told us.

There was a rumble of annoyance, both from the counsellors, whose alliance trades were useless now, and the younger kids, who had started pairing off the moment Quintus mentioned 'teams of two.'

'Your goal is simple.' Quintus held up a circular silk package. 'Collect the gold laurels without dying.' He explained that there were six laurel wreaths, each wrapped inside a silk package and attached to the back of a monster, which we would have to slay to retrieve our prize.

Excitement rustled across the tables. It was the first time the prize for capture the flag could be won by more than one team. There'd be plenty of competition, of course—six prizes among forty pairs—but that was part of the fun.

'I will now announce your partners. There will be no trading. No switching. No complaining.' His gaze rested on me and I knew he was thinking of my table swap this morning. I tried to look innocent. My mind was already running through the best strategy for different potential pairings. If I got Clarisse, we'd focus on close combat. An Apollo kid—Lee, or Michael maybe—would make a good combination: they could provide cover while I went in close. One of the Aphrodite campers would be a challenge, though Silena might not be too bad. I'd seen her blow up a dragon before.

After this morning, I didn't think Quintus would stick me with Percy, so it was a surprise when I heard, 'Percy Jackson with Annabeth Chase.'

'Nice!' Percy turned his brightest, one-dimpled grin on me. The unadulterated joy on his face made my heart flutter.

I hoped I wasn't blushing. Together, we had the best chance of winning. That was all.

'Your armour is crooked,' I said as steadily as I could. He leaned over so I could redo them. My fingers fumbled awkwardly with the straps.

Quintus rolled up his scroll and announced the last pair: 'Grover Underwood with Tyson.'

I'd never seen Tyson turn so pale, not even when he'd faced a seven-headed hydra. And Grover looked as though he'd just been sentenced to life in the Labyrinth.

Quintus silenced their complaints the moment they left their mouths. 'Get with your partner,' he ordered everyone. 'You have two minutes to prepare!'

Tyson sneezed. Percy looked a little worried, watching him and Grover go off together.

'They'll be fine,' I told him. Maybe spending time together was exactly what they needed to see how harmless the other was. 'Come on. Let's worry about how we're going to stay alive.'

I wasn't really worried. Percy and I had this one in the bag.

We trooped into the woods in pairs—Will and Malcolm, Katie and Michael, the younger kids like Lacy and Mitchell paired off with satyrs. Percy and I started following a trail of marks in the dirt that looked like they'd been made by a creature scuttling through the trees.

'I bet it's whatever was in those crates in the sword-fighting arena,' Percy said.

'Yeah, I saw those. Triple-G ranch.'

'Do you know what was inside?'

I shook my head. The creature that had made the tracks looked like it had a lot of legs. Or maybe it was a bunch of creatures moving together.

We followed the trail west, into a wilder part of the woods. I remembered this path. Grover, Clarisse, and I had taken it this spring on a similar capture the flag exercise. A few months before that, I'd come this way with Percy in search of Nico di Angelo.

'This is where … we stopped looking.' I glanced at Percy, wondering if he remembered. It was here, on this ledge, that he'd declared the Great Prophecy would be his.

Percy gazed down at the pond under the ledge. 'I saw him last night,' he said slowly.

My mind leapt to my dream of Luke and Kronos in the Labyrinth. But of course, Percy was talking about Nico. 'What do you mean?'

'I got an Iris-message. Like—a collect call or something. It showed me Nico. He was in the Underworld, talking to a ghost. And it told him he could summon Bianca from the dead by exchanging … well, he said, "a soul for a soul."' Percy gulped. 'I think he's going to try and kill … someone … to get Bianca back.'

The way he said _someone,_ I got the feeling Percy knew exactly who Nico intended to murder, except he was too scared to tell me.

My stomach twisted. Bianca's death was my fault. Did Nico know that, or did he blame Percy?

'He's summoning the dead?' I said at last. 'That's not good.'

'The ghost was giving him bad advice. Telling him to take revenge.'

I pursed my lips, liking the sound of this less and less. It was the same way Kronos had corrupted Luke. And he'd been trying to manipulate Percy and Thalia for years. Nico was the last Big Three kid, Kronos's last chance to get one on his side.

I guess if Nico's advisor had been Kronos, Percy would have sensed it. But Kronos probably wasn't the only unsavoury spirit lurking around.

'Spirits are never good advisors,' I sighed. 'They've got their own agendas. Old grudges. And they resent the living.'

Percy ran his hand through his hair. 'He's going to come after me. The spirit mentioned a maze.'

So Nico _did_ blame Percy. I felt guiltier than ever. And again, the maze—the Labyrinth. It was everywhere. We _had_ to figure it out before Luke did.

Our conversation was cut short by a rustle of leaves and the loud snap of branches. A little further into the woods, something moved. Percy and I both tensed. It looked like we'd found our quarry.

We followed the sound to Zeus's Fist, a pile of boulders that we'd used a couple of times in our games. The clearing was empty when we got there, but I sensed motion a little way to the north.

'Over there.' I pointed into the trees.

'No, wait.' Percy turned around. 'Behind us.'

We stood back to back, swords at the ready, trying to figure out which direction the monster had gone. Then a head popped out among the boulders.

'Hi.'

I nearly ran Juniper through with my sword. She jumped back with a yelp.

'Put those down! Dryads don't like sharp blades, okay?'

I sheathed my sword, breathing hard. 'Juniper, what are you _doing_ here?'

'I live here!'

I knit my eyebrows. I could've sworn Juniper's tree had been somewhere else in the woods when we'd first met her.

'In the boulders?' Percy said, confused.

Juniper rolled her eyes and pointed to the trees beyond Zeus's Fist. 'In the juniper. Duh.' She looked at me hopefully. 'Are you guys busy?'

'Well, we're in the middle of this game against a bunch of monsters and we're trying not to die,' Percy said.

Juniper's lower lip stuck out, like she was going to cry. I elbowed Percy in the ribs. 'We're not busy. What's wrong, Juniper?'

'It's Grover.' Her voice wobbled. 'He seems so distraught. All year he's been looking out for Pan. And every time he comes back, it's worse. I thought maybe, at first, he was seeing another tree.' The thought distressed her so much, green tears leaked from her eyes.

'No,' I said quickly, 'I'm sure that's not it.'

'He had a crush on a blueberry bush once.'

'Juniper,' I said, trying not to think too much about this, 'Grover would never even _look_ at another tree. He's just stressed out about his searcher's license.'

Juniper's eyes bugged out in alarm. 'He can't go underground! You can't let him!'

I was starting to regret getting into this. 'It might be the only way to help him; if we just knew where to start.'

'Ah. About that …' Juniper shifted her weight from foot to foot. She dropped her gaze, her slanted eyes darting from side to side, almost as if …

As if she knew something.

But before I could press her for more information, the monster emerged from the trees. Juniper saw it first. With a squeaky cry, she vanished, leaving green smoke behind.

Dryads!

I saw the tail first—long, curved, and armoured, with a nasty orange sting. There was no doubt that sting could deliver any amount of painful, paralysing poison. It arched over the scorpion's back, where the red silk package containing our prize was tied. A set of razor-sharp pincers protruded half a foot in front of the scorpion's ugly face.

Percy and I fell into our familiar fighting pattern. This was the best thing about being paired with him. We'd fought together so many times, we didn't even need to discuss our strategy. I reached for my invisibility cap, ready to sneak around and cut off the monster's tail while Percy took point.

Then two more scorpions emerged into the clearing.

' _Three?_ ' I gasped. Quintus had said there were only six of them. How was it possible that half the group had come for us?

The game had changed drastically. Percy couldn't possibly take point against three scorpions at once. Even if both of us faced them head on, it would be a struggle to keep them off. We moved into a defensive stance, backing up against a boulder to guard our backs.

'Climb?' Percy suggested.

'No time.' The scorpions were too close. A sting ripped through the air; I met it with my blade. Percy jabbed at our first attacker, but it scuttled back easily.

We moved into the clump of boulders, where there was less space for the scorpions to manoeuvre. It helped us fend them off, but we were getting forced into a dead end among the boulders. If this kept up, we'd be trapped, with no choice but to keep parrying the scorpions' attacks until we tired. We needed a better plan, a way to hide and regroup so that we could come at the monsters one by one.

'In here!' Percy said. He jerked his head towards a gap between two boulders that was less than a foot wide.

' _In there?_ ' We wouldn't even have room to swing our swords. Would we even fit, with all our armour? 'It's too narrow.'

'I'll cover you,' Percy insisted. 'Go!'

I could sort of see his point. If we wedged ourselves in deep enough, the scorpions wouldn't be able to follow. Hoping there would indeed be enough space to accommodate us both, I started squeezing into the gap. It was a tight fit, but I managed to shuffle along sideways. My fingers pressed against the rock as I tried to burrow in deeper. The stone shifted with a creak.

Then the floor dropped out from under me. I cried out and flung my hands out reflexively. My fingers closed around Percy's armour strap and just like in my dream, we were falling, falling, into darkness.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

 **A/N** : I know I say this every week, but thank you **Hello, BooksAndHotChocolate, JustADerangedFangirl, ArtimuosJackson, Thunderwolf7226, randomstories7777, CQ816, OverLordRevan, SG2000,** and **MiraEstrellas** for dropping by to comment last week!

For those of you who might be confused, the reference to Silena blowing up a dragon isn't canon, but taken from my earlier fic The Golden Fleece. I know that it's a tough call making a subjective interpretation of canon and adding additional details that are not specifically mentioned, and there's going to be plenty of controversy over what is an accurate portrayal, but thank you for sticking with this story nonetheless. All I hope is that there will be enough plausibility for the bits that are not actually in canon, and that it is something you guys can still enjoy!


	9. I Achieve My Life's Goal (So Far)

Chapter 9: I Achieve My Life's Goal (So Far)

If the rock-hard landing hadn't knocked the breath out of me, Percy would have. We lay in a tangle for a moment, my fingers still entwined in his armour straps. Then he rolled away, flustered.

'Sorry,' we muttered at the same time. His voice cracked a little, going from the new, lower pitch I was only just starting to get used to, to its original boyish frequency.

The sky above us winked away, a retractable roof sliding shut. For a second, everything was pitch black. Then my eyes registered the bronze glow of Percy's sword. Its glow lit up his face, shadowy and confused.

My breath came out in a puff that echoed all the way down the pit. When I spoke, my voice bounced off stone walls. Where _were_ we?

Percy tried to joke. 'Safe from scorpions, anyway.'

I put my hand against the wall. It was cold and mossy, with wet lichen creeping along the cracks in the stone. A sense of déjà-vu crept up on me. I'd been in a hole like this before. It was when I'd gone out to Arizona with Clarisse and accidentally opened a trapdoor …

Percy shone his blade into the darkness. 'It's a long room.'

My insides clenched. I stepped closer to Percy, clutching his arm. If we were where I thought we were, it would be disastrous to get separated now. 'It's not a room.'

A draft ruffled my ponytail, further confirming my suspicions. Air flow wouldn't be possible in an enclosed space.

'It's a corridor,' I whispered.

But how was this possible? Clarisse, Grover, and I had searched everywhere for an entrance. We'd definitely looked around Zeus's Fist. Had we simply not searched hard enough? Or had the Labyrinth entrance only just appeared? And if so, why now?

Percy started to move down the corridor. I tightened my grip on his arm. 'Don't take another step! We have to find the exit.'

'It's okay,' he said soothingly. 'It's right—'

He stopped and stared up at the ceiling, as though he'd only just realised the outside had disappeared.

I found his hand. Percy laced his fingers through mine, warm and comforting.

Okay. We could figure this out. How had Clarisse and I done it last spring?

I made us take two steps back. It brought us close to one of the walls. The smell of moss was strong on it, damp and earthy. We'd activated the Phoenix entrance by pressing the mark of Daedalus. I must have accidentally pressed up against a mark on the outer entrance when I was squeezing through the boulders.

'Help me examine the walls,' I told Percy.

'What for?'

'The mark of Daedalus.' I was already running my fingers up and down the stone, searching for a little triangular indent.

There it was. I put my palm against it, relief flooding through my veins. The _Delta_ symbol glowed blue.

The ceiling slid open like a sunroof, revealing a star-strewn sky with the sliver of a new moon. Tree branches swayed across it. Metal rungs imprinted themselves into the wall, like a ladder up a manhole. Percy motioned for me to go first. I let go of his hand and started to climb.

We emerged into the space between the boulders. It had widened, but once we got out, the boulders slid shut, closing off the hole in the ground. The gap shrank to its original narrow opening.

Fortunately, in the five minutes or so that we'd been in the Labyrinth, the scorpions had wandered away. It seemed like we'd been in there for longer, though. The sun had already set, leaving the woods cold and dark. The only light came from the summer constellations: Capricorn, Sagittarius, the Corona Borealis—Ariadne's crown. I shivered, thinking how lucky we'd been. If we'd gone any further into the Labyrinth, with no maps, without Ariadne's string, who knew where we'd have ended up? We could have been lost for months inside, like Clarisse.

People were calling our names. I heard Tyson's voice thundering over everyone else's.

'Come on,' I said, leading the way out from among the boulders.

Our friends were combing the woods with torches. We found Clarisse first, in a group with Silena, Will, and Katie Gardner.

Clarisse shoved her torch in our faces, so close I had to jump back to avoid being scorched. 'Where have you two been? We've been looking forever!'

Percy frowned. 'But we were only gone a few minutes.'

Hadn't he noticed the change in the sky?

Chiron emerged from between two trees, followed by Tyson and Grover. Tyson's one big eye was wide with worry. He nearly dropped his torch when he saw us.

'Percy! You are okay?'

'We're fine,' Percy assured him. 'We fell in a hole.'

Everyone turned to stare at him, except for Clarisse. She raised her eyebrows questioningly at me. She had one of the golden laurels on her head. Silena was wearing another.

'Honest!' Percy explained about the scorpions, stressing that we'd only been gone a minute.

Chiron shook his head. 'You've been missing for almost an hour. The game is over.'

'Yeah.' Grover muttered something about being sat on.

'Was an accident!' Tyson said.

Clarisse kept her eyes on me. 'A hole?' I got the feeling she'd guessed exactly what had happened.

I looked among the members of the search party. Most of them wore puzzled expressions. I had to let Chiron and Clarisse know what we'd found, but the middle of the woods didn't seem to be the best place for it. 'Chiron … maybe we should talk about this at the Big House.'

'You found it, didn't you?' Clarisse demanded.

When I confirmed her suspicions, she looked graver than I'd ever seen her before. We both knew what this meant.

Will scratched his head. 'What were you looking for?'

'What's going on?' Katie asked.

Tyson's eye was wide and bewildered. 'Annabeth found something?'

Chiron put up his hands, stalling their questions. 'Tonight is not the time, and this is not the right place.' He ordered us back to our cabins.

Clarisse and I trailed the group through the woods, hanging back so that the others couldn't hear our conversation. Only Percy stayed close enough to listen.

'It was like in Arizona,' I told her. 'I pressed the mark by accident. And we just—fell in.'

'I knew it,' she said. 'This explains a lot. It explains what Luke is after.'

Percy stopped walking. 'Wait a second—what do you mean?' He gave me a puzzled look. 'What did we find?'

I couldn't believe he hadn't worked it out yet. 'An entrance to the Labyrinth,' I said, wishing our hypothesis hadn't been right. 'An invasion route straight into the heart of camp.'

A stunned silence followed. The others in front of us had stopped walking, too. I'd spoken too loudly.

'We will not talk about this now,' Chiron said firmly. 'Everyone, back to your cabins.'

He caught Clarisse and me by the arm. 'In the morning, we will brief the others. I will rely on the two of you to lead the war council.'

I tried hard to get a good sleep that night, knowing it was essential to be alert the next morning, but my mind kept taking me down dark, winding tunnels. I'm not sure when I actually slipped into dreams. When I woke up, the stone walls and forked paths were still at the front of my thoughts.

Chiron collected me after breakfast. He must have noticed the bags under my eyes, but he didn't comment.

Clarisse was less diplomatic. 'You look awful,' she said.

I took in her messy hair, poking out in different directions under her bandanna, and her rumpled shirt. 'You're one to talk.'

'Are you ready to speak to the others?' Chiron asked.

Clarisse and I exchanged a look. We nodded in unison.

'Call everyone,' I said. 'The cabin heads … er, Quintus, I guess. Grover, too. And Argus.' He was our security chief. If we were really preparing for war, we'd need him.

We assembled around the weapons table in the sword-fighting arena. Mrs O'Leary, never far from Quintus, sat in a corner, working her way through a decapitated training dummy. In addition to the people I'd named, Juniper had accompanied Grover, and Percy had brought Tyson along. No one objected.

Seeing Juniper reminded me of our run-in with her at Zeus's Fist yesterday. Just before the scorpions had shown up, she'd said something, like there was something we should know, something she should tell us …

It was almost as if she'd known what we would find there.

But if she knew it was there, why hadn't she mentioned it before? Juniper knew we were looking for a Labyrinth entrance at camp.

Or did she? I wasn't sure if in our encouragement of Grover to seek Pan underground, we had actually mentioned the possibility of a Labyrinth entrance here.

I let Clarisse kick off the meeting. She laid out the facts about the Labyrinth in a brusque, business-like manner, describing the entrances we'd discovered: Phoenix, San Francisco, Manhattan. She left out Chris, which was strange considering he was the one who had instigated our investigation. I guess it was just too sensitive a topic for her.

'But how did Luke know about the Labyrinth?' Lee mused. 'He's been gone from camp for years. He couldn't have known it'd reform _here._ '

'The Labyrinth didn't reform,' I said. 'It's been growing under civilisation all along. The entrances shift, but the one Percy and I found … it may have been here for a while.' A few more things were falling into place. The way Luke had used to disappear from camp for hours, as if he had a secret hideout I could never find. The way he'd left camp two years ago—no one had seen him leave; he'd simply vanished at the end of summer. Even the way he'd snuck back in to poison Thalia's tree. It made so much sense now, I was amazed I hadn't seen it before. 'Luke must have known about the Labyrinth entrance.' His knowledge was more extensive than I'd ever imagined. It blew me away, just a little. 'He knew everything about camp.'

'That's what I was trying to tell you last night!' Juniper piped up. 'The cave entrance has been there a long time. Luke used to use it.'

There was a general outcry at this—why hadn't Juniper said anything; did this mean Luke could show up on our doorstep at any moment? Juniper protested that she had no idea what it really was, and she'd only been spying on a cute guy.

All the girls around the table blushed, except for Clarisse. Grover pretended to gag. Percy, I noticed, had balled his hands into fists. He was staring at the chew toy Mrs O'Leary was slavering over, as if imagining Luke in its place.

Quintus cleared his throat. 'Interesting …' he said slowly. He sounded like he had when he'd asked me to tell him about camp, like he was piecing together an intriguing puzzle. 'And you believe this young man, Luke, would dare use the Labyrinth as an invasion route.'

'Definitely.' Clarisse pounded the table with her fist. 'If he could get an army of monsters inside Camp Half-Blood, just pop up in the middle of the woods without having to worry about our magical boundaries, we wouldn't stand a chance. He could wipe us out easy.' She caught my eye. 'He must've been planning this for months.'

I didn't know why Luke couldn't just come straight back to camp through the Labyrinth, if he'd used the entrance before. Maybe it had stopped working for him. He must have tried at the end of last summer, after we'd captured the Golden Fleece, and found he couldn't get through any more. That would have been when he'd started exploring.

'He's been sending scouts into the maze.' I started to explain how we knew this, when I remembered that Clarisse had probably left out Chris's role in this whole escapade for a reason.

'Chris Rodriguez,' Chiron muttered to Quintus in a low voice that only those of us at the head of the table could hear.

Quintus nodded. 'Ah, the one in the … yes, I understand.'

Percy looked up. 'The one in the what?'

Clarisse's face was red. She threw us a resentful look. 'The point is, Luke has been looking for a way to navigate the maze.' She nodded at me. 'He's searching for Daedalus's workshop.'

'The guy who created the maze?' Percy asked.

'Yes—the greatest architect, the greatest inventor of all time.' I thought of my maps, my dreams, all the conflicting stories I'd pieced together in my research. 'If the legends are true, his workshop is in the centre of the Labyrinth. He's the only one who knew how to navigate the maze perfectly.' This must be exactly why Kronos had told Luke to find Daedalus. 'If Luke managed to find the workshop and convince Daedalus to help him, Luke wouldn't have to fumble around searching for paths, or risk losing his army in the maze's traps. He could navigate anywhere he wanted—quickly and safely.' I reached for the hilt of my dagger, seeking its comfort. 'First to Camp Half-Blood to wipe us out. Then … to Olympus.'

As I said it, the task we had to undertake to stop him became clear, as though the magical compass, Ariadne's string itself, had illuminated a path in my brain.

'Back up a second, Annabeth,' Beckendorf said in his deep, loud voice. 'You said "convince Daedalus."' He knit his eyebrows in confusion. 'Isn't Daedalus dead?'

'I would hope so,' Quintus said. 'He lived, what, three thousand years ago?' He gazed at me with a strange gleam in his eye, as though he were especially curious about how I would counter this point. 'And,' he added, 'even if he were alive, don't the old stories say he fled from the Labyrinth?'

'That's the problem, my dear Quintus,' Chiron said. 'No one knows. There are rumours … well, there are _many_ disturbing rumours about Daedalus.'

Quintus raised his eyebrows challengingly. I wondered just what he _had_ heard of Daedalus.

'One is that he disappeared back into the Labyrinth towards the end of his life.' Chiron looked at me, and I knew this time he wouldn't shoot down the idea forming in my head. 'He might still be down there.'

I took a deep breath and said, 'We need to go in. We have to find the workshop before Luke does.' I laid out the plan piece by piece: find Daedalus, secure his help, keep Ariadne's string out of Luke's hands. The more I spoke, the more confident I was that this was the right plan.

Percy held up his hand. 'Wait a second. If we're worried about an attack, why not just blow up the entrance? Seal the tunnel?'

Grover brightened and volunteered immediately. I'd never seen him this eager to blow something up.

'It's not so easy, stupid.' Clarisse rolled her eyes, like she couldn't believe Percy assumed we hadn't attempted it. 'We tried that at the entrance we found in Phoenix. It didn't go well.'

I explained how we'd tried to demolish the building that housed the Labyrinth entrance in Phoenix. Clarisse had brought an entire wrecking crew, dynamite and all, but all we'd succeeded in doing was shifting the entrance ten feet away. We could probably blow up the whole camp and the Labyrinth would still open up into the ruins.

'The best we can do is prevent Luke from learning to navigate the Labyrinth.'

Lee pursed his lips. 'We could fight. We know where the entrance is now. We can set up a defensive line and wait for them.' He mimed stringing a bow. 'If an army tries to come through, they'll find us waiting with our bows.'

Chiron reminded him that we'd already been doing that—preparing to defend the camp—but there was only so much we could do. The Aethiopian drakon two nights ago was a prime example of what we were up against. Only the magical boundaries had kept the monster out. If all our archers together couldn't even bring down one monster, how would we face an entire army?

I repeated the plan: beat Luke to Daedalus's workshop and Ariadne's string. If we had it, he couldn't use it.

And maybe—just maybe—if we found Luke, I could try again to convince him to return.

'But if nobody can navigate in there, what chance do we have?' Percy said.

I had to admit this was the toughest part of the plan. But now that we had real evidence that Luke could use the Labyrinth against us, going in ourselves was the best strategy—maybe our only chance. And I'd done so much research. Even if Luke had a head start in his search, he couldn't know more about ancient architecture than me.

'I know Daedalus's Labyrinth better than anybody,' I said.

Percy's eyebrow quirked. 'From reading about it.'

'Well, yes.'

'That's not enough.'

Something inside me deflated. Why was he being so stubborn about this now? I'd counted on him to back me up, but here he was, shooting down my best idea.

'It has to be!' I shot back.

'It isn't!'

I ground my teeth. 'Are you going to help me or not?'

As the words flew out of my mouth, I saw the ghostly shade of my dream two nights ago, with Percy challenging me in the Labyrinth. Did he sense my hope that this plan could save Luke? Was that why he was so strongly against it?

I took a step back. Sometime during our argument, we'd gotten to our feet and were now standing nose to nose. The rest of the table watched us with wide eyes.

'Ahem,' Chiron said. He looked pointedly at Percy and me. We sank back into our seats. 'First things first.' He stared at his hands, weighing the threat to camp against the danger a few of us would face in the Labyrinth. With a heavy sigh, he announced, 'We need a quest. Someone must enter the Labyrinth, find the workshop of Daedalus and prevent Luke from using the maze to invade this camp.'

Percy crossed his arms, looking mutinous.

Clarisse swivelled her chair to face me. 'We all know who should lead this—Annabeth.'

It was a complete one-eighty from last summer, when we'd fought each other to lead the quest for the Golden Fleece. I turned over the college ring on my camp necklace. 'You've done as much as I have, Clarisse. You should go, too.'

'I'm not going back in there.'

The other counsellors exchanged looks of disbelief. I guess they remembered our fight from last summer, too. I knew Clarisse had been through hell in the Labyrinth, but she'd have eaten slugs before admitting it.

'Don't tell me you're scared,' Travis scoffed. 'Clarisse, chicken?'

Clarisse jumped to her feet. 'You don't understand anything, punk. I—' Her voice actually trembled. 'I'm never going in there again. Never!'

Her voice cracked on the last word. She fled the room before anyone could see her lose her composure completely. Her footsteps echoed across the arena.

Travis raised his hands awkwardly, glancing at the rest of us in bewilderment. 'I didn't mean to—'

'The poor girl has had a difficult year,' Chiron said mildly. 'Now, do we have an agreement that Annabeth should lead the quest?'

Nobody objected.

It was funny; for years I'd wanted to be handed a quest. I'd trained harder than anyone, read more, learned more, just so I could lead one of my own. Now that the moment had come, it felt nothing like I'd imagined.

There was no fanfare, no jubilation, no excitement. Just a silent room holding its breath in fear and anticipation, with the survival of our camp hanging on my success.

This was what it really meant to get a quest: responsibility.

And I'd watched enough quests be assigned to know what came next. To proceed with my quest, I needed a prophecy. One that would determine my fate … _all_ of our fates.

It was time to face the Oracle.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

 **A/N:** So, I'm wondering if the clues from DoW were obvious enough to connect to Annabeth's remembrances of Luke's past actions here. Let me know what you think of that!

Thank you **Hello** , **Thunderwolf7226, JustADerangedFanGirl, CQ816, OverLordRevan, MariaClaire,** and **randomstories7777** for your reassurance this week about the additional details in my fics! I'm glad you guys are enjoying them. And CQ816 and MariaClaire: I am so sorry I haven't been able to put up a reply on the forum as I've spent just about zero time on my laptop this week because I've been busy arranging a birthday present that involved arranging, playing, and singing a song (plus recording) so I didn't really get to do proper replies to anything that came in after last Saturday my time. Sorry about that. I still very much appreciate the time you've taken to leave me a comment on what you enjoyed and will do better this week!


	10. The Oracle Gives Me A Death Sentence

Chapter 10: The Oracle Gives Me A Death Sentence

The Oracle lived at the very top of the Big House. I'd been to the attic many times—most recently to retrieve Thalia's weapons last year—but only twice had I actually approached the mummified figure that presided over the dusty room. The second had been an accident: the night I met Percy, I'd come to stow something away and unexpectedly received a prophecy heralding his arrival.

The first time, I was ten. Aggrieved that Luke hadn't asked me to accompany him on his quest, I'd snuck up here, determined to get my own prophecy for my own quest.

What I'd gotten instead was a seventy-year-old prophecy that foretold the possible downfall of Olympus at the hands of a half-blood child of the three eldest gods.

This prophecy was the reason why Thalia and Percy had no demigod siblings. Their fathers had never even intended to sire them, for fear that they could choose to destroy Olympus when they reached sixteen. Chiron had interrupted me before I heard the prophecy in full, but he had finally revealed its entirety to Thalia and me last year. That was when we'd still thought Thalia was destined to fulfil the prophecy, before she renounced her mortal life hours from her sixteenth birthday, leaving Percy next in line to inherit its burden.

I tried to suppress these thoughts. I didn't really want to think about the Great Prophecy when I was on the verge of receiving my own.

There was a lot of junk strewn about the attic, discarded over the years by campers who had long since left. Battered shields, monster parts, weird statues … I spotted a scarf I'd chucked up here some time back. It was draped over the bust of a god with two faces, which had the words _CHOOSE WISELY OR FOREVER REGRET_ scrawled over it. Whichever angle I looked at it, a devilish face leered back, like, _you can't escape me._

I shivered and turned away.

The shrivelled husk of the Oracle was probably the oldest thing in the room. She must have been alive once, but as far as anyone but Chiron could remember, she'd been like this. Not even Chiron knew why the Oracle had stayed trapped in the corpse of her previous host.

 _Focus, Annabeth._

I closed my eyes briefly, then faced the Oracle and asked, 'What is my destiny?'

The Oracle was silent for a while. She cocked her head to one side, considering me carefully through glassy eyes. Then she crooked one bony finger. My dagger leapt out of my pocket into her skeletal hands. Dust billowed around me, making me cough. My eyes watered. The particles shimmered like stardust in the glow of my celestial bronze blade.

The dust motes swirled in the air, turning black and smoky like the labyrinthine clouds over Mount Tam. They hurtled past me at dizzying speed. The smell of earth permeated the room—damp soil, like the underground. Like monsters, Grover would have said.

And then I saw Grover, or at least an image of him. He glowed a deep, earthy green, as if his skin was covered with UV body paint. His mouth opened, but it was the Oracle's raspy voice that issued from him:

' _You shall delve in the darkness of the endless maze._

 _The dead, the traitor, and the lost one raise._ '

With a whooshing noise, the earthy-smelling smoke exploded upwards into a curtain of rushing water. A double tsunami closed in on me from either side. Grover turned into Percy, who said, still in the Oracle's voice:

' _You shall rise or fall by the ghost king's hand;_

 _The child of Athena's final stand!_ '

There was a sizzling noise. The walls of water shook, becoming mist, then erupted into flames. Percy broadened out into Tyson, who delivered the Oracle's next line:

' _Destroy with a hero's final breath._ '

The fire melted away, leaving behind fine, pale clouds. Tyson turned and shrank, raising his arms to his sides. Feathers sprouted bizarrely from his arms. He glided through the clouds on outstretched wings and landed on the top of a mountain. I recognised Mount Tam immediately, with the black marble ruins and funnel cloud of the sky sitting at its peak. Luke stood under the column of sky, looking wild and desperate, just like he had when he stood on my doorstep last month. The sky hovered just above his head, an anvil waiting to drop.

I saw myself facing him, hesitating. The sky crashed down onto his shoulders. And I shook my head and turned away. In the background, Luke staggered under the weight while I turned to face myself and gave the last, most terrifying line of all:

' _And lose a love to worse than death._ '

The entire scene went up in green smoke. My dagger clattered to the ground at my feet. The Oracle went still, her hands clasped in her lap as though she'd never moved.

I wasn't sure how long I stayed there, rooted to the ground in the aftermath of this paralysing vision. I knew the others were waiting for me to return, but I couldn't make myself leave, not yet. They would expect me to have answers, to share my prophecy and reassure them that it spelt success for my quest and the safety of camp.

Did it? Nothing in the Oracle's lines indicated if I would succeed or fail. The closest I could make of it was the line about the ghost king: _You shall rise or fall by the ghost king's hand …_ It sounded like this ghost, whoever he was, would determine my fate.

Was it Daedalus? Did it mean I would find him, and he would decide … what?

But the subsequent lines set my teeth chattering. _Child of Athena's final stand … hero's final breath …_ If I wasn't mistaken, that sounded like … like …

It sounded like I was going to die.

Okay, so it wasn't as if I hadn't face death before. That was kind of an occupational hazard of being a half-blood. There'd been so many times I'd thought I was really done for. But it was different when I was facing down a dangerous monster and thinking, _crap, I'm toast,_ or even jumping between my friends and a raging manticore or the falling sky. Hearing the Oracle tell me my days were numbered was a whole new level of terrifying. It was like …

Well, I guess it was probably like Thalia learning that her soul was supposed to be reaped by a cursed blade.

Only that hadn't happened to Thalia in the end. I took heart. Prophecies were tricky things. You could go mad trying to predict exactly what they meant.

My next step should be to pick my companions for the quest. Usually, quest heroes were allowed to choose two companions to accompany them. Before visiting the attic, I'd probably have picked Percy and Grover, or Clarisse, if she hadn't been adamant about never entering the Labyrinth again in her life. But the Oracle had given me four images. Four pillars, like the cornerstones of the world. Earth, water, fire, and air. She'd even given me a person for the first three, someone who matched each element perfectly.

Chiron wasn't going to be happy about this, but I knew with certainty that I would need them all.

I tried not to think about the last image. Or the last line.

By the time I stumbled back to the sword-fighting arena, an hour had passed. Everyone looked at me expectantly when I entered, but my eyes went straight to Percy. Despite being opposed to my quest earlier, his face held only concern now. It made me feel a little warmer, a little braver.

'I got the prophecy,' I told the room. 'I will lead the quest to find Daedalus's workshop.'

Silence. They were waiting for more.

'What did the prophecy say exactly, my dear?' Chiron asked. 'The wording is important.'

I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply. Behind my eyelids, I could see the rushing walls of smoke, of water, of fire. Slowly, I repeated the first two lines of the prophecy.

Grover gasped. 'The lost one! That must mean Pan! That's great!'

I blinked. I'd missed that connection. My mind had gone first to Luke—the brother I'd lost, who'd betrayed us. _The traitor and the lost one._

Chiron shushed Grover and prompted me to keep going.

My voice failed me after the next two lines. I guess everyone thought that was the clincher, because they all exchanged nervous looks.

'Hey, we shouldn't jump to conclusions,' Silena ventured hopefully. 'Annabeth isn't the only child of Athena, right?'

Her comment fell rather flat. I didn't think anyone believed it didn't refer to me. Sure, prophecies could be loosely interpreted, but I _was_ the daughter of Athena, and this was my quest. Who else could it possibly refer to?

Besides, there was no way I'd pick one of my siblings to join me just to spread the odds. If I was going to die … well, then I would go down saving camp.

Beckendorf picked up on the earlier line. 'Who's this ghost king?'

There were many shrugs around the table. Percy shifted his weight uneasily. I vaguely remembered him mentioning something about a ghost IM-ing him—or was it an IM about a ghost? I should probably ask him about it later.

Chiron rubbed his beard. 'Are there more lines? The prophecy does not sound complete.'

'I—' The final lines of the prophecy rang in my head, but my throat closed up when I started to say them. 'I don't remember exactly.'

Chiron didn't buy it. He just stared at me until I offered up, ' _Destroy with a hero's final breath._ '

'And?'

I couldn't bring myself to repeat the last line. What did it mean, _lose a love?_ I thought of Luke, staggering under the sky. Sure, I'd had a crush on him, but love? That was pushing it. But who else fit the bill?

My eyes drifted to Percy. A rush of heat filled my cheeks.

No, it couldn't be him. Percy was just my best friend. So maybe I got giddy and light-headed sometimes when we stood a bit too close, or … No. I didn't _love_ anyone. That was such an Aphrodite thing, the stuff the cabin eleven kids teased each other about. You _looooove_ him. Utter nonsense.

Anyway, I didn't need anyone speculating on who I loved or would lose. And it wasn't like it made a difference to the actual quest. 'Look,' I said, getting to my feet, 'the point is, I have to go in. I'll find the workshop and stop … L-Luke. And …' It was time to announce my companions. I looked at Percy, relieved to see the determined expression on his face, the one that said, _I've got your back._ 'I need help. Will you come?'

'I'm in,' he said immediately.

My lips curved upwards. It comforted me greatly to know he would be there. Aside from the fact that he was the person I trusted most, there was also the looming possibility that I was going to die on the quest. Maybe it was selfish, but if this _was_ my final stand, I wanted a good friend by my side when it happened.

I turned to Grover next, knowing he would be harder to convince. After all, he'd been digging in his heels against the idea of searching for Pan underground for days. But I guess he really believed my prophecy spelt success for his search, because he agreed without argument.

That left the final person the Oracle had specified. Tyson didn't even hesitate. He seemed genuinely excited to be picked.

As I'd expected, Chiron objected. 'This goes against the ancient laws,' he warned me. 'A hero is allowed only two companions.' He began to list all the reasons this was a mistake, the possible consequences of this choice. He even brought up Percy and Grover's quest last winter, the one that had claimed the lives of Bianca di Angelo and Zoë Nightshade.

The one that had been my fault.

'Only three came back,' Chiron said. 'Think on that.'

 _The child of Athena's final stand,_ I thought. If only three of us were returning from this quest … well, I probably wouldn't be one of them. Maybe it was fate. Maybe it would be atonement for my mistakes last winter.

I looked straight at Chiron and said, 'I know. But we have to. Please.'

Chiron relented at last. And that was it—my quest team was set.

While I'd been with the Oracle, the other campers had discussed defences for the Labyrinth site. We adjourned the council for them to start setting these up. I was about to join them, but Chiron shook his head.

'You should concentrate on preparing for your quest,' he said. 'Let us worry about defending the camp. After all, our best defence is what you hope to achieve in the maze.'

'But—' Even though he was right, now that I faced the possibility of dying underground, I wanted one last afternoon outside. And it might be the last time I'd ever get to spend time with Chiron.

Chiron seemed to guess what I was thinking. He squeezed my shoulder. 'I will go get them started, and then we'll have an archery lesson together, okay?'

A lump rose in my throat. I nodded quickly, not trusting my voice.

I sent Malcolm to the woods in my place. He'd have to take over Athena cabin in my absence. I was about to head out to the archery field, but the drafting table in my cabin caught my eye. My maps were spread out over it. I stared at them until the lines seemed to blend into one another.

I'd fought really hard hard to get this quest because I knew it was the way to save the camp … and okay, fine, I really wanted to lead it. But how prepared was I, really? I still hadn't figured out how to connect my maps. Could I really trust my research, my knowledge?

This was no time for doubts. I'd convinced everyone I could do it. I had to believe I could, too.

I pushed the maps aside and pulled out a fresh sheet of paper. On it, I wrote out my prophecy, all six lines the Oracle had given me. On a whim, I wrote down the Great Prophecy next to it. Two terrible prophecies. Twelve deadly lines. There was some connection between them, something tugging at the back of my mind.

 _Final stand … final breath … final choice …_

'Knock knock.'

I jumped. Quickly, I swept my paper under the maps.

It was Percy. He'd come to find me, even though he wasn't really supposed to be in here. There was a rule about campers of different gender being alone in each other's cabin. But at the moment, I couldn't care less about the rules.

'You okay?'

I picked up the top map. 'Just … trying to do some research.' I babbled something about the difficulty of our task.

Percy stepped closer. 'We'll figure it out.'

I met the comforting sea-green of his eyes—like a calm, Carribean ocean. How did I explain the complexity of this quest—not just our mission, but my feelings about it? I'd wanted this since I was seven, I was sure I was the right person for it, yet the weight of it terrified me.

'You're going to be awesome,' Percy said.

I breathed in deeply. The smell of old books mingled with the fresh, salty scent that always seemed to hang in the air around him. 'I'm worried, Percy,' I admitted. 'Maybe …'

He was so, so close. I looked down. Although I'd hidden the paper with the prophecies, I could still make out the lines I'd written.

 _And lose a love to worse than death._

It couldn't mean Percy. He was the hero of the Great Prophecy. He had to survive to reach sixteen at least.

But then, Nico di Angelo was still out there, ready to step in. I felt an irrational burst of hatred toward the kid, which was totally unfair. It wasn't Nico's fault he was a son of Hades. Or that he'd lost his sister. _That_ was my fault.

Doubt crowded back into my brain. I'd screwed up so badly last winter. And I _knew_ my fatal flaw was hubris. Had I been overconfident in taking on this quest? How was I going to get my friends in and out of the Labyrinth alive?

'I shouldn't have asked you to do this,' I said. Panic was rising quickly in my chest. 'Or Tyson and Grover.'

'Hey, we're your friends,' Percy said. 'We wouldn't miss it.'

'But …' I rubbed the beads on my camp necklace together.

'What is it? The prophecy?'

'I—I'm sure it's fine.' In my struggle to hold back the tears that pricked at the corner of my eyes, I missed Percy's next question. I remembered something he'd said last winter, when we realised there was another child of the Big Three out there, another potential prophecy kid: ' _I choose the prophecy._ '

He'd been brave enough to accept that responsibility. I could be brave enough to take on mine.

All the same, my arms reached out, seeking reassurance.

'Hey …' Percy pulled me into a hug. 'It's okay.' His hand rubbed little circles on my back. I hadn't noticed myself trembling until he held me, solid and steady. I rested my head on his shoulder. He'd grown an inch or so over spring, so that we were nearly the same height again.

'Chiron might be right. I'm breaking the rules. But I don't know what else to do. I need you three. It—' I couldn't tell him why it was so important, not without revealing the last line of the prophecy. 'It just feels right.'

'Then don't worry about it. We've had plenty of problems before, and we solved them.'

I raised my head to look at him. 'This is different. I don't want anything happening to y—' I stopped myself before the word could slip out. 'To any of you.'

The look on Percy's face was so tender, my breath caught in my throat. My eyes drifted to his mouth. His lips were slightly parted.

He was _so_ close.

Someone cleared their throat loudly.

Percy and I leapt apart. Malcolm was standing at the door, his nose and ears twitching like they did when he was embarrassed. He wouldn't meet either of our eyes.

'Um, sorry,' he whispered. 'Archery practice is starting, Annabeth. Chiron said to come find you.'

Percy raked his fingers through his hair. 'We were just looking at maps.'

I looked down. I was, in fact, still holding one of the Labyrinth maps.

Malcolm gulped. 'Okay.'

'Tell Chiron I'll be right there,' I told him. He nodded and dashed off like a pack of hellhounds were on his tail.

I ran a hand across my eyes. The moment was ruined—which was probably just as well. I didn't need this distraction, not before a dangerous quest.

Not with that prophecy line.

'You go ahead, Percy.' I forced myself not to look at his face, or at his lips. 'I'd better get ready for archery.'

'Annabeth?' he said softly.

My eyes darted to his. He held my gaze steadily. 'About your prophecy. The line about a hero's last breath—'

My stomach clenched. 'You're wondering which hero?' So he hadn't assumed it referred to me. Then again, I didn't know for sure that it _would_ be me. 'I don't know.'

'No—something else. I was thinking …' He licked his lips nervously. 'The last line usually rhymes with the one before it. Was it something about—did it end in the word _death?_ '

My heart started to race. He'd guessed it. Well, some of it. Ordinarily, I'd have been proud of him for being so perceptive, but this time …

'You'd better go, Percy.' I shuffled the map in my hands. 'Get ready for the quest. I'll—I'll see you in the morning.'

He gave me a long, penetrating look before he left. No longer did I feel safe and comforted, as I'd been in the moment he'd held me.

Now my insides were hollow, like I'd already lost the love the prophecy had warned me about.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

 **A/N** : As far as I can tell, it's never actually explained in canon why Annabeth thought it so necessary that she have all three companions—Percy, Grover, _and_ Tyson. I hope my justification for it was plausible!

So many of you have chimed in this past week and I'm so grateful, and also so sorry at how long I take to reply! **Hello, Thunderwolf7226, ArtimuosJackson, JustADerangedFangirl, Arimichi, Livvi May, CQ816, Numberfivewithabullet,** **VCRx,** THANK YOU! And I think I got back to each of you individually, but if I've managed to miss someone out, I'm so sorry. For those of you who don't know, I'm in my final year of my degree and writing my doctoral thesis at the moment so that's (partly) why things are so hectic. But I just wanted to reassure you again that I am still determined to see this story through to it's end. I've decided I won't do NaNo this year, as I likely won't manage with thesis to write + four papers requiring revisions, but think I could do it as a project over Christmas break (as I finally have an original outline I'd like to try my hand at) ... in which case I won't do giftfic requests this year.

Anyway, hope you've all enjoyed this week's chapter at least! :)


	11. I Get Some Useless Advice

Chapter 11: I Get Some Useless Advice

Our quest group set out at dawn.

I was awake long before that, having been plagued by nightmares in which I'd found myself facing crossroad after crossroad. In one of them, Percy, Grover, and Tyson each took a path and insisted that I pick among them. In a more horrifying version, Percy and Luke stood at a fork in the maze. A guillotine hung above each of their heads, poised to fall. I could push one of them out of the way, but that would leave the other …

I couldn't go back to sleep after that.

Malcolm found me buried in the library at the back of our cabin, poring over old books and trying to commit as much as I could to memory. I'd already packed the essential maps in my bag, but I couldn't possibly bring along every source we had on Daedalus.

'Shouldn't you be resting before the big quest?' He rubbed his eyes groggily.

'Sorry to wake you,' I muttered, ignoring the question.

'You okay?'

'Just … taking some last minute notes.' I sighed and snapped the book shut.

He smiled sympathetically. 'Look, I don't know what happened with the Oracle yesterday, but … you're the smartest of all of us. If anyone can save the camp, it's you.'

'Of course,' I said lightly. 'That's the plan.'

Malcolm gave me a long, searching look. I wondered if he could see the uncertainty and indecision behind my tiredness. But he just shrugged and pulled one of the books towards him. 'So what's Daedalus's workshop look like?'

'Well, I don't know for sure,' I said. 'But it doesn't matter. It's the maze architecture that we have to identify. The workshop was part of the original structure, so it has to be in the most ancient part. The books mention some other landmarks—a freshwater spring they accidentally uncovered during construction, the chamber of the Minotaur …'

The more I talked, the more my confidence increased. I'd prepared for this. I had a plan to pinpoint our location in the Labyrinth. I could do this.

Many of our friends got up early to send us off. Or maybe they'd already been on guard duty at the maze entrance. Thanks to Beckendorf and Clarisse's hard work, a full battle station had sprung up around Zeus's Fist overnight. Guard tents sat in the shelter of the trees. The entire clearing was lined with deep trenches and a barrier of iron spikes. Beckendorf and two of his siblings were hammering away at it when Percy, Grover, Tyson, and I arrived.

'Did you guys sleep at all?' I marvelled.

Beckendorf shrugged. 'You all set?'

I nodded.

Silena popped her head out of one of the guard tents. Her hair was in curlers, which clashed bizarrely with the Greek armour she was wearing. I guess even a night watch couldn't mess with an Aphrodite girl's hair care routine.

'Annabeth!' She took my hand. 'Be careful in there, okay?'

Beckendorf reached into the front pocket of his mechanic's smock. He retrieved a bronze compact and handed it to me.

'What's this?'

'Open it.'

I flipped up the cover. Inside was a magnetic compass, similar to the one Daedalus had given Ariadne in my dreams. For a second, I almost thought it was the same gadget. But of course, this was just an ordinary compass.

'I don't know what good it will do down there—being underground might mess up the bearings—but I wanted you to have something,' Beckendorf said.

I put the compass in my supply pack, next to the map scrolls and emergency ambrosia. 'Thanks. You never know. It might come in handy.'

Percy came over as I was snapping my bag shut. Heavy bags ringed his eyes, which were bloodshot and squinty.

'Percy, you look terrible!'

'He killed the water fountain last night,' Tyson volunteered.

'What?'

Chiron joined our group, Quintus trailing just behind him. 'Well, it appears you are ready.' His voice was a little too cheerful.

Percy bit down on his lower lip. He pinched his forehead, then seemed to reach some private decision. He drew Chiron aside, indicating to the rest of us that he'd only be a minute.

I turned back to Beckendorf and Silena. Clarisse had joined us by now, decked out like Silena in full body armour, except she wore her plumed helmet instead of hair curlers.

'When you're down there,' she said grimly, 'just keep moving. And don't listen to the voices.'

'What voices? You mean like ghosts?'

She just scowled. 'They'll try to mess with your head. They—' She broke off, her gaze turning inwards. For a moment, she looked almost as crazy as Chris. Then she shook it off. 'I think you should pulverise that inventor if you find him. Stop him from helping Luke _and_ from doing … anything else.' She stomped off to go patrol the clearing.

'We've set up a rotating watch,' Silena explained. 'Malcolm drew up a schedule. Three different cabin members at all times, so there's a mixed skill set.'

'I thought that's what you'd have done,' Malcolm said.

'It is,' I said approvingly.

They showed me a few more plans—battle formations, alarm protocols, rigged traps. The camp defences would be in good hands when we were gone.

If it made a difference. Somehow, I got the feeling that all this work—the Hephaestus kids' defences, the booby traps strung up by the Stolls, the phalanx shields Clarisse was organising—all of it would be no more than a minor annoyance for the full strength of Kronos's monsters.

The sun was creeping up above the tree line.

'We should probably get started,' I said to Grover and Tyson.

Grover looked nervously at Juniper, who clutched at his arm. She was weeping green tears again.

'I'll be fine,' he promised. 'I'm going to find Pan. I'll bring him here to meet you.'

Juniper hiccoughed and buried her face in Grover's shirt. He kissed her forehead.

I looked away. Chiron and Percy were still at the edge of the forest. Their 'just a minute' had already turned into ten.

'Percy, you ready?' I called, heading over.

He and Chiron wrapped up their conversation. Percy slipped a hand into his pocket, probably making sure his magic pen-sword, Riptide, was there. Together, we approached the boulders that hid the Labyrinth entrance. I reached into the gap and placed my hand on the smooth face of the rock. There was a flash of blue and the earth opened up. This time, I could see the ladder rungs down the side.

We climbed down, away from the sunlight and our worried friends. When I reached the bottom, I looked up for one last glimpse of their faces: Chiron, stoic and strong; Juniper, clutching her chlorophyll-tinted cheeks; Silena, turning her bracelet round and round on her wrist; Quintus with an indescribable expression on his face.

Then the ceiling slid shut, locking us in the Labyrinth.

It was like being in a city sewer. The tunnel was nothing like the one Percy and I had fallen into. Instead of mossy stone walls, we were surrounded by brick and iron. A cold, rancid wind blew through the tunnel, smelling worse than the public toilets in San Francisco. The passage ahead of us was so dark, our flashlight beams disappeared into nothingness.

We'd gone about thirty paces when I remembered the first rule of navigating a maze: always stick to the corners. I was loath to touch the sewer walls, with the reeking stains running down the brickwork, but I put my hand out.

'If we keep one hand on the left wall and follow it, we should be able to find our way …'

It was as if the walls heard me. The moment I finished my sentence, the bricks melted away from under my fingertips, leaving us in a large, open room. It formed a circle around us, a chamber like the one I'd seen in my dream, with multiple openings spaced out evenly in the marble walls.

This had to be good. It meant that we were near the entrance—or at least what the entrance had been in ancient times. As long as we could mark our progress in …

'Um …' Grover's flashlight lit up his scared face. 'Which way did we come in?'

I turned around. There were four dark tunnels behind us. We could have come from any of them.

Percy pointed towards the one nearest to him. Grover pointed to another. Tyson picked a third. I wanted to smack my head against the chamber walls. Ten minutes in and already we were lost.

I gritted my teeth. I was the leader. I had to make a decision.

Well, we might not know how to go back, but our goal was to go in. I ruled out the four tunnels behind us. That left eight, each identical to the others. None of their archways bore identifying marks.

I thought I heard a gleeful, maniacal voice snicker, ' _Leading from nowhere to nowhere, girlie._ '

What was it Clarisse had said? _Just keep moving._

Maybe this whole chamber was an illusion, a wily trap of the maze. If we just kept going straight, it might revert to the original brick tunnel. I pointed to the opening directly ahead of us. 'That way.'

'How do you know?' Percy said. His challenging tone stung. It was hard enough staying confident without him second-guessing me.

'Deductive reasoning,' I said loftily.

'So … you're just guessing.'

I resisted the urge to throttle him. 'Just come on.'

I didn't want to admit it, but as we plunged ahead, my choice did seem no better than a random guess. We found ourselves in a narrow cement tunnel, like a utility shaft, only horizontal. The further we went, the tighter the space became, such that we were pressed together, bent double to keep our heads from scraping the ceiling. Grover's breathing got quicker and louder. Any moment, he was going to have a full-blown panic attack.

I was about to suggest that we turn back and try a different passage (I wasn't sure Tyson would even fit if this tunnel got any more cramped) when with no warning at all, we tumbled out into a massive, open space.

It was like stumbling through a time machine. The room carried the weight of a thousand years of history. Crumbling mosaic tiles lined the walls and ceiling, depicting the gods lounging around a grand feast. Holding court in the centre was Hera, resplendent with a goat-skin cloak over her white dress, a staff by her side. Her arms spread out like she was presenting the fountain that lay beneath her in the middle of the room. It was made of white stone. and rose towards the mosaic ceiling in three majestic tiers. The design reminded me of the Pulitzer Fountain in Central Park, only way older. It looked like it hadn't spouted water for centuries.

For a bright, hopeful moment, I wondered if it might be the ancient spring, one of the landmarks of the original maze. Then I realised that old though the fountain might be, it wasn't old enough. The gods in the mosaic were stern-faced and solemn, like they were attending a feast of war rather than a celebration. Hera took pride of place instead of Zeus. And my mother was shunted off to one tiny corner, depicted with a flute instead of her usual shield.

The frieze was Roman.

How much had the Labyrinth incorporated into its structure over the years? I remembered how Prof Daly had described it as living architecture. It must be growing constantly, adding spaces like fabric to a quilt, multiplying like the heads of a hydra.

A beast with its own life force.

As if to confirm my thoughts, the tunnel ahead of us groaned. Grover trembled. Tyson hung back warily.

I decided to focus on the positive. If the Labyrinth was a patchwork of various time periods, then a two-thousand-year-old room was a good sign. We were already getting close to the heart.

We forged on deeper into the maze. The flare of hope the Roman fountain had given me soon faded as the tunnel walls took on a more modern feel, returning to the red brick sewers we'd first seen. I thought maybe we'd taken a wrong turn, looped back the way we'd come, especially when the architecture turned to concrete façades and steel supports. But then we went another fifty paces and found ourselves in a dirt tunnel, then cracked marble walls, then concrete again.

It made no sense at all. Sure, the Labyrinth was magical architecture, but it had to have _some_ logic to it. Not this mess of ancient and modern fragments, as if the newer bits had squeezed their way in between the older spaces like haphazard weeds.

That wasn't architecture. That was just chaos.

I lost track of how long we'd been wandering. We passed root cellars, and rusty crates, and even a human skeleton sitting among a pile of milk bottles—as if the man he'd once been had just given up and collapsed after days of fruitless wandering. I could commiserate.

How many of the Athenian tributes who'd been fed to the Labyrinth had actually run afoul of the Minotaur? More likely they'd simply died like this guy, of exhaustion and despair, the way we were probably doomed to as well …

'Er, Annabeth?' Grover pointed to the opening ahead of us. 'Haven't we been here before?'

It was the Roman room with the fountain. At least, it looked like the same room, with the mosaic tiles and the three-tiered fountain in the centre. But instead of a single tunnel at the end, there was a pair of heavy wooden doors, bolted across with huge iron locks. In front of them, leering cruelly, was the statue I'd seen in the Big House attic: a two-faced head. Only this was no statue but an actual man, wearing a trench coat and polished leather shoes. His head sat askew on his shoulders so that four eyes—two on each face—peered at us sideways.

The two-faced man angled his head such that his left face was looking at me. One bushy eyebrow arched. He clicked his tongue impatiently.

'Well, Annabeth? Hurry up!'

The head swivelled to allow the right face to peer at me.

'Don't mind him. He's terribly rude.' He raised his right arm to indicate the bolted door on the right. 'Right this way, miss.'

Was that the correct path? Who was this man? If only I'd paid more attention to the old statue in the attic. He was probably one of the minor gods … but which one?

Tyson leaned close to me and said in a stage whisper, 'That funny man has two faces.'

The left face snapped back to us. 'The funny man has ears, you know! Now, come along, miss.' A big metal key appeared in his hand, a perfect fit for the old-fashioned locks on the doors.

'No, no, this way, miss,' his other face objected. His right hand snatched the key away from his left. 'Talk to me, please.'

There was a moment's tussle between them. The man shook his head rapidly, each face grappling for control. Then, both scowling fiercely, they settled for glaring at me out of the corner of their eyes. He juggled the key from hand to hand.

I threw a glance over my shoulder, wondering if it might be better to backtrack. To my alarm, there was only a mosaic wall behind us. 'The exits are closed!'

'Duh!' The man spread his arms. His meaning was obvious. The only way out of this room was one of the doors behind him.

'Where do they lead?'

The man tapped a finger against his right chin. 'One probably leads the way you wish to go. The other …' He shrugged with only half his body, which made him look like he was having a seizure. 'The other leads to certain death.' He sounded almost apologetic.

Something clicked. The Roman friezes, the two doors, the two-faced man planted between them like a divider …

'I—I know who you are!'

Janus, god of doorways, his left and right faces perpetually looking front and aft, forward and back. His left face sneered at me, pressing me for a decision. 'But do you know which way to choose?' he taunted.

His faces had the good-cop-bad-cop routine down pat: one side of him pretending to help while the other tore me down. Which should I listen to?

'Why are you trying to confuse me?' I demanded.

'You're in charge now, my dear,' said the right face. 'All the decisions are on your shoulder.' He gave me the most intense sidewise gaze I'd ever seen. 'That's what you wanted, isn't it?'

My breath caught in my throat. 'I—'

'We know you, Annabeth. We know what you wrestle with every day. We know your indecision.'

Something sharp glinted over the door frames. The edge of a blade, threatening to fall.

'You will have to make your choice, sooner or later. And the choice may kill you.'

 _'It's because of him,' Luke said, his face twisted and bitter._

 _The blades fell, one over Percy, one over Luke._

I couldn't breathe. 'No … I don't—'

Percy stepped in front of me, chin lifted in challenge. 'Leave her alone. Who are you, anyway?'

Janus introduced himself in a sing-song way. 'I'll see you soon enough,' his right face told Percy. 'But for now …' He let out a gleeful laugh. 'It's Annabeth's turn! Such fun!'

Janus's left face snarled, 'Shut up! This is serious! One bad choice can ruin your whole life. It can kill you and all your friends. But no pressure, Annabeth.'

I shivered. My fears, my nightmares, the responsibility for this quest and my desperate need to succeed—they all rested on my shoulders, heavier than the weight of the sky. Everyone was depending on me.

No pressure. Yeah, right.

'Choose!' Janus insisted.

Percy grabbed my arm. 'Don't do it.'

But we couldn't stand here indefinitely with Janus taunting us. I was the leader. I had to choose …

I lifted my arm to pick a door. A crack seemed to run through the ceiling, threatening to collapse if I chose wrong.

A burst of white light blinded me. My hand rose instead to shield my eyes. When the intensity of it receded, it was like the mosaic image of Hera had floated down. She had shed her goat-skin cloak to stand before us in her simple white dress.

Hera's voice was sharp, but it was Janus whom she berated, not us. Janus's two faces nearly smashed into each other trying to appease her. Hera smiled serenely.

'You know very well your visit is premature. The girl's time has not yet come.'

Her words were meant to be reassuring, but my stomach felt heavier, like Hera had piled even more lead weights inside. She banished Janus and lit the domed ceiling with a wave of her hand. We were under a bright, sunny sky, with a picnic spread—also courtesy of Hera—laid out before us. The Roman fountain sprang to life, rippling melodiously in the background.

Percy, Grover, and Tyson fell excitedly on the platters of sandwiches Hera now produced. It had been ages since our last meal, but my throat was too dry to eat. _The girl's time has not yet come._ What was that supposed to mean? It sounded as though the dangerous choice Janus dangled before me was real and imminent.

'Queen Hera.' I could hardly wrap my mind around the image of the queen of the gods sitting cross-legged on a picnic blanket in front of us. 'What are you doing in the Labyrinth?'

A light breeze swept across my face, like a washcloth wiping off the grime I'd accumulated in the tunnels. It rustled through my hair as if the goddess herself was sorting out my tangles.

'I came to see you, naturally.' Hera's smile was pleasant, almost motherly.

I ran my fingers along my camp necklace. The only times I'd met Hera, she'd been supremely disdainful about half-bloods in general. And in the old legends … well, there was no shortage of stories about Hera tormenting heroes. 'I didn't think …' I stopped before I blurted out something undiplomatic. 'Well, I didn't think you liked heroes.

'Because of that little spat I had with Hercules?' Hera clicked her tongue impatiently. 'Honestly, I got so much bad press because of one disagreement.'

'Didn't you try to kill him, like, a lot of times?'

'Water under the bridge, my dear.' Hera sniffed, like it was all inconsequential. Which for her, it probably was. What did she care if a demigod had suffered a long, torturous life? 'Besides, he was one of my loving husband's children by _another_ woman.' She related blithely the marriage counselling she and Zeus had been through since. I might have believed she was over it, had her eyes not flashed when she mentioned his most recent transgression.

'You mean when she sired Thalia?' Percy said.

Hera's head snapped to him. 'Percy Jackson, isn't it? One of Poseidon's children. As I recall, I voted to let you live at the winter solstice. I hope I voted correctly.' Her glare warned him not to give her an excuse to rescind her support.

She turned pointedly away from him, and it was like sun bursting through the clouds on her face. 'At any rate,' she said to me, 'I certainly bear you no ill will, my girl. I appreciate the difficulty of your quest. Especially when you have troublemakers like Janus to deal with.'

I shivered. 'Why was he here? He was driving me crazy.'

The two doorways were no longer barred; the locks had disappeared with Janus. The choice he'd waved like a guillotine over my head wasn't hovering between them any more. But the gleam of the blade, the crack in the ceiling—they still haunted me.

'Trying to.' Hera warned us that the minor gods could be fickle in their loyalties. This wasn't news; I already knew some of them had defected.

What was Hera's game? I still couldn't work out her purpose. Her monologue was hard to follow—she segued from the minor gods into perseverance, and faith, and believing in one's goals.

'What are your goals?'

She looked at me like it should be obvious. 'To keep my family, the Olympians, together, of course.'

How she thought she would achieve this by helping us, I wasn't sure. But I hoped it was a good sign. The ancient rules didn't allow godly interference, and Zeus was a stickler for them. Yet if he'd made an exception for her and allowed her to grant a wish …

'A wish?' Had any hero ever gotten a favour like this from Hera? Jason, maybe. She'd liked him.

Hera held up a finger. 'Before you ask it, let me give you some advice, which I can do for free. I know you seek Daedalus.' Unfortunately, she didn't offer me a map. But she told me to find her son, the blacksmith god. 'If anyone would have kept up with Daedalus and could tell you his fate, it is Hephaestus.'

'But how do we get there?' Without a map, we'd have no more success locating Hephaestus than we had Daedalus. At least with the workshop, I had a plan. 'That's my wish,' I decided. 'I want a way to navigate the Labyrinth.'

Hera shook her head like I was being foolish. 'So be it. You wish for something, however, that you have already been given.'

'I don't understand.' I was sure this was the wisest thing I could possibly ask for.

'The means is already within your grasp. Percy knows the answer.'

Percy blinked owlishly. 'I do?'

It was a trick. She wasn't going to help us.

'That's not fair—you're not telling us what it is!'

'Getting something and having the wits to use it …' Hera shrugged again. 'Those are two different things. I'm sure your mother, Athena, would agree'

I scowled and crossed my arms. Surely my mother would never renege on an offer. _She_ kept her promises. For all Hera's talk about family and helping, I got the sense she never meant to help us at all. With her meaningless platitudes and false sympathy, she was no better than Janus with his cryptic taunts.

Before I could accuse the queen of heaven of being a hypocrite, the mosaic ceiling rumbled. Hera got up to take her leave. 'Think on what I have said, Annabeth. Seek out Hephaestus. You will have to pass through the ranch, I imagine.' She said this like we had a tedious chore to perform. 'But keep going. And use all the means at your disposal, however common they may seem.'

As she gestured towards Janus's doors, they opened up into two dark tunnels. There was still no sign as to which was the right way. How utterly useless.

'One last thing, Annabeth. I have postponed your choice. I have not prevented it. Soon, as Janus said, you _will_ have to make a decision.'

Ice curled in the pit of my stomach. With a final farewell, Hera and all her fancy trappings—the picnic blanket, the food, the light in the room—went up in smoke.

I thought I heard an echo of Janus's taunt: ' _Choose._ '

I stamped my foot, drowning it out. I took the nugget of fear creeping up my chest and dissolved it into anger at Janus, at Hera, for toying with me.

'What sort of help was that? "Here, have a sandwich. Make a wish. Oops, I can't help you!" Poof!'

'Poof,' Tyson echoed. He was still holding a sandwich plate, but the food was long gone.

'Well, she said Percy knows the answer,' Grover said. 'That's something.'

Percy looked alarmed. 'But I don't. I don't know what she was talking about.'

There was no point arguing about it. I squared my shoulders and faced the doors. I'd just have to pick one.

'All right. We'll just keep going.' At least the others had gotten to eat a bit.

Grover and Tyson leapt to their feet at the same time. Their faces were mirrors of tension.

'Left.' They sounded absolutely positive about it.

I stared at the doors. They still looked identical to me. 'How can you be sure?'

'Because something is coming from the right.' Grover was already heading for the left passage.

'Something big,' Tyson added. He cocked his head to one side, listening intently. 'In a hurry.'

I didn't waste time arguing. We took the left tunnel.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

 **A/N** : Aaaaand we are in the Labyrinth proper! So you guys can pretty much figure what's happening now. I won't cut chapters quite the same way as they happen in canon, but there's not that much I can deviate from the structure of events. But still, I hope it will all stay quite fresh with Annabeth's perspective of them, which I strive to keep different! (Mostly because I do believe she offers a very different perspective!)

Anyway, do let me know what you think. Thank you to **Hello, groverspanpipes, randomstories7777, JustADerangedFanGirl, Thunderwolf7226, VCRx, Livvi May, Numberfivewithabullet, SG2000,** and **CQ816** for chiming in this past week. It's awesome to hear from you guys so regularly, and it's a great motivation to keep this story going!


	12. We Spring A Prison Inmate

**A/N:** Quick but big thank you to **strawberrygirl2000** for Ameri-picking help in this chapter!

Chapter 12: We Spring A Prison Inmate

It wasn't long before we heard the monster Grover and Tyson had sensed. It was something large and panting, shuffling through the passage like it had a massive bulk to drag along. Maybe it had a better sense of direction, or maybe it was following our scent, because the noise kept getting louder as it gained on us.

Of course, now that we could have done with a few twists and turns to evade the monster, the Labyrinth decided to make our tunnel straight and narrow. Worse still, it ended abruptly, trapping us between a massive boulder and the approaching monster.

Thank the gods for Tyson. He rammed the boulder with all his superhuman strength. It took him a few shoves, but he finally got it to move several feet, allowing us to squeeze through into the room behind.

'Close the entrance!'

We all helped Tyson roll the boulder back in place. Before we shut off the passage, I got a brief glimpse of something with lots of teeth and scales screaming in disappointment at being denied its prey.

We leant against the boulder, breathing hard. Then I saw the metal bars that lined the other side of the wall.

'We trapped ourselves,' Grover moaned.

I ran to the bars and looked out. 'What in Hades?'

To my utter shock, we were no longer in the Labyrinth. At least, I didn't think we were.

We were on the ground floor of a circular prison. Rows of cells just like ours encircled the central courtyard, spiralling up to the ceiling of the building. Our cell was empty, but some of the others had displays in them: hard beds, washstands, wax figurines depicting old inmates.

I knew this place. I'd been here on a school trip in February. But … it was impossible.

We hadn't been walking long enough.

Percy ran his hands along the bars of our cell. 'Maybe Tyson can—'

Grover shushed us. He tilted his head to one side, listening intently.

I heard a pained, desperate sobbing, a keening that rang with unmitigated suffering. Over it came the eerie rasp of a cruel voice. It was something from out of this world, a different language, but one I'd heard before, ancient and heavy with magic.

I could almost feel a cold, sucking wind from a deep, dark pit.

'Can't be!' Tyson gasped. He yanked two of the cell bars apart and squeezed through the hole, thundering down the prison catwalk.

'This is Alcatraz,' I told the others. Even though it didn't seem possible that we'd made it all the way to San Francisco, there was no mistaking the old prison museum.

And this wasn't good. The last I'd known, the Titans had taken over this island.

Either the museum tours hadn't started, or they were finished for the day. Nobody was around to notice four kids breaking out of a cell and racing up the stairs. We chased Tyson to the second-floor catwalk. Against all odds, it was Grover who caught him.

'Stop, Tyson!' He tugged on Tyson's arm and got dragged several feet along the catwalk. Scuff marks appeared in the floor where he tried to dig his hooves in. It slowed Tyson just enough for Percy and me to grab him, too. 'Can't you see it?'

We all followed Grover's finger. The monster on the balcony was twenty feet long, with a tail that trailed over the edge of the railing. She was a dozen terrible creatures at once: snake spitting in her hair, carnivorous heads growling at her waist, a scaly dragon's body. One look at her and I knew she'd be featuring in my nightmares for a month.

It was she who had spoken in that raspy, ancient tongue.

'Can you translate?' Percy asked Tyson.

I braced myself. Even though I knew it was just Tyson, the mimicry always freaked me out. It reminded me too much of the Cyclops in Brooklyn who had trapped Thalia, Luke, and Grover by pretending to be each of us in turn.

'You will work for the master or suffer,' Tyson said in the monster lady's voice. Then he switched to the voice of her prisoner: 'I will not serve.'

I shuddered as he returned to the monster lady's persona. Tyson was _too_ good with his imitations. I would have been happy with just a basic translation.

'Then I shall enjoy your pain, Br—Briares.' Tyson stumbled over the name. I had a feeling his stutter wasn't part of the original statement. 'If you thought your first imprisonment was unbearable, you have yet to feel true torment. Think on this until I return.'

Briares's sobbing increased as the monster lady turned away. We ducked below the railings on our side of the catwalk, shrinking into the shadows. Fortunately, the monster lady didn't notice us. She launched herself off the balcony. The whoosh of her leathery wings swept up a stinging wind as she glided down to the courtyard. She slipped around a corner, out of sight.

Grover wrinkled his nose. 'Horrible. I've never smelt any monster that strong.'

Tyson rocked back and forth, hugging himself. 'Cyclopes' worst nightmare … Kampê.'

The name struck a chord. Another ancient monster, this one older than the gods … And there had been an ally Athena and Artemis had been searching for here in the spring …

'She was our jailer in the bad years,' Tyson said.

'I remember now.' In the age before the Olympians, the Titans had imprisoned the first children of Gaia and Ouranos—the Cyclopes and the Hekatonkheires. During the first Titan War, Zeus had slain Kampê and freed her prisoners. As I explained this to Percy and Grover, it dawned on me who must be in that cell, weeping piteously.

This Briares must be one of the three legendary Hekatonkheires. With their hundred hands and incredible strength, they'd been instrumental in turning the tide against the Titans.

'I guess we should check it out before Kampê comes back,' I suggested.

Briares looked nothing like a mighty giant. The famous hundred hands sprouted all over his torso, but the ones at his front were wringing each other, or tearing at his wispy hair, or covering his face as he wept into them. The hands at his back reminded me of pre-schoolers amusing themselves while their parents argued. Several were shaping scrap metal into little robots that would have occupied my stepbrothers for hours. Others were playing finger games with one another.

Tyson knelt before the Hekatonkheire and called his name reverently. 'Great Hundred-handed One, help us!'

Even Briares's face made me think of a child. His eyes were cartoonish brown dots pasted under an elongated forehead. His voice came slow and sad: 'Run while you can, Cyclops. I cannot even help myself.'

Tyson was torn between dissolving into hero-worship and coaxing Briares to fight. Neither helped. Briares had shrunk into a shadow of his former self. I didn't know what Kampê had done to him, but she clearly had him good and cowed.

'Guys,' Grover said nervously, 'we have to get out of here. Kampê will be back. She'll sense us sooner or later.'

'Break the bars.' I meant for Tyson to do it, but Tyson grinned at Briares.

'Briares can do it. He is very strong. Stronger than Cyclopes, even! Watch!'

We watched. Briares didn't even attempt to touch the bars.

'If he's so strong, why is he stuck in jail?' Percy asked.

I couldn't believe he was being so obnoxious. Poor Briares had the air of an abused child. 'He's terrified,' I said, jabbing him with my elbow. How would Percy feel, being back under the thumb of a jailer who had once imprisoned him in Tartarus for thousands of years?

'Tyson, I think you'd better break the bars,' I said.

Tyson gave Briares another pained glance. When Briares still didn't move, Tyson finally tore the cell door out of the wall.

I put my hand into the cell. 'Come on, Briares. Let's get you out of here.'

Five hands reached out tentatively for mine. Before we could touch, his other hands batted his outstretched ones away. Briares trembled. 'I cannot. She will punish me.'

The sorrow in his voice melted my heart. I leaned forward, kneeling before him like he was a small child. 'It's all right. You fought the Titans before, and you won, remember?'

'I remember the war.' Briares's eyes wavered. So did his voice, as he recounted his memories. He didn't move to follow us.

Grover's eyes darted anxiously around the courtyard, searching for any sign of Kampê's return. I exchanged a look with Percy. If Briares really wouldn't follow us, there wasn't much we could do.

'One game of rock, paper, scissors,' Percy said suddenly. I stared at him. How in Hades was that going to help anyone?

Percy pushed forward into the cell. 'If I win, you come with us. If I lose, we'll leave you in jail.'

'I always win rock, paper, scissors,' Briares said. I could see his point—with his hundred hands, he could easily field all three at a go.

This didn't faze Percy. I didn't know if he actually had a plan, or if he'd just gone crazy. They shook their fists—a hundred and one of them—and came up with …

I blinked. Percy had shaped his thumb and index finger like—

'A gun beats anything,' he said.

I almost laughed. Unorthodox as it was, it worked. Briares didn't look happy, but he upheld the bargain. Trust Percy to find a crazy, out-of-the-box solution.

We were just a little too late, though. A loud thump hit the ground floor. Kampê had returned, and she was _not_ happy with our jailbreak attempt.

Now that we'd sprung Briares, he was only too eager to run. We dashed along the catwalk. Kampê launched herself into the air after us, not bothering with the stairs.

I dragged the others down the stairwell, forcing Kampê to alter course mid-flight. There was a side corridor here, if I recalled correctly. We sprinted through it to another block, arriving just around the corner from the entrance, where all the tours started.

'Left!' I gasped. 'I remember this from the tour.'

We smashed through the main door into the prison yard, where a crowd of tourists were gathering for their prison tour. Their cameras flashed at us. Compared to the darkness of the Labyrinth, even the overcast skies over the bay seemed impossibly bright at first. Then I realised how bad the storms really were. In the two weeks since I'd left, the thunderclouds had extended across the Bay Area, like an ink spill had seeped across the sky.

I started to comment on this, and Briares nearly bowled me over. 'Keep moving! She is behind us!'

'Kampê's too big to get through the doors,' Percy said.

She was, but that didn't stop her. Instead of using the doors, Kampê simply bashed straight through the walls. They crumpled like sliced onions. Then I saw what she'd used to slash her way out. She had a pair of bronze scimitars—matching swords with wicked, curved blades. Something sizzled from them, a weird green mist that sent spirals of smoke curling into the air.

Grover gasped. 'Poison! Don't let those things touch you or …'

'Or we'll die?' Percy said helpfully.

'Well, after you shrivel slowly to dust, yes.'

There was no fighting her. Even if Briares had been prepared to fight, which he wasn't, it was just too risky.

'Run!' I shouted.

A new boatload of tourists had just docked at the wharf. They'd definitely chosen the wrong day for a visit. I momentarily considered the possibility of commandeering the ferry, but it didn't travel very fast. And taking to the seas beneath a flying monster wasn't the wisest course of action.

'Back into the maze!' Tyson said. 'Only chance.'

The only way back was through Kampê. 'We need a diversion,' I said.

'I will distract Kampê,' Tyson announced. He'd acquired a metal bar from somewhere and was wielding it like a club. There was a lamp on the end; he must have ripped the streetlight right out of the ground. 'You run around, back to the prison.'

Percy pulled Riptide from his pocket. 'I'll help you.'

Tyson shook his head and urged us on. He assured us that the poison would hurt, but wouldn't kill him.

I didn't like it. Tyson had already sacrificed himself for us on several previous occasions. It was a miracle that none of those had killed him. It wasn't fair to keep putting him in this position. But what choice did we have?

 _Choose, Annabeth._

I forced Janus out of my head. 'Come on,' I said.

Briares was cowering in the a corner. I grabbed his hand—one of them, anyway—and tugged him back towards the prison block. Percy and Grover helped me guide him past Kampê, whom Tyson had charged with his lamppost. The sound of her screech was awful, like the mutilated screams of a dozen dying crows.

The poisonous scimitars flashed through the air. Tyson's lamppost fell to the ground in chopped up pieces.

We were only halfway across the jail yard.

'Can't make it,' Briares muttered.

Percy's face was tight with fury. 'Tyson is risking his life to help you! You _will_ make it!'

Footsteps thundered behind us. Tyson was running pell-mell for us and the prison. He must have thrown everything he could find at Kampê. She was covered in what looked like half the merchandise from the prison gift shop and the contents of all the ice cream tubs from the tourist concession stand. It hadn't improved her mood.

'Hurry!' I gasped.

We swung through gaggles of screaming tourists, into the dim cell block. Kampê's scimitars hit the fluorescent lighting overhead, plunging us into semi-darkness as we found our cell with the bent bars.

'Look for the mark!' I ordered.

Grover found it first. I slammed my palm over his. The glowing _Delta_ activated under our touch. The back of the cell opened up. As soon as the gap was wide enough, we dove through it, dragging Briares with us. The Labyrinth entrance slid shut just after Percy and Tyson barrelled in, right in Kampê's face.

Her furious howl followed us all the way down the tunnel, shaking its very foundations. We didn't stop running until the echo of it faded.

We stopped to catch our breaths in a room filled with walls of rushing water, just like the vision in my prophecy. The water thundered out of pipes in the ceiling, forming a falling curtain between us and a central pit. I'd never been to the Niagara Falls in northern New York, but I thought it might look something like this.

Briares doused his face in the waterfall. 'This pit goes straight to Tartarus. I should jump in and save you trouble.'

I shivered and stepped back involuntarily. I didn't know if Briares was serious, but I'd had more than enough experience with pits leading to Tartarus. 'Don't talk like that,' I said sharply.

Briares hung his head miserably. He looked as though he hadn't really left his Alcatraz prison.

'You can come back to camp with us.' I tried for a gentler tone. 'You can help us prepare. You know more about fighting Titans than anybody.'

Briares wrung a dozen of his hands. 'I have nothing to offer. I have lost everything.'

His grief was as sharp and fresh as the sheets of water tumbling down around us. As we pressed him further, we discovered why.

He was the last of his kind.

I caught Percy's eye. He was dumbfounded, like he couldn't believe anything could just fade—not only die, but vanish completely from the collective unconscious. I knew how he felt. We were so used to the gods always being there, a permanent presence that had been around before we were born and would continue after we died. But immortality had its limits. Archetypes could only survive as long as they remained valid in society.

'Kronos isn't fading,' Percy told Briares. 'He's still in a coffin, but he's reforming in there. I've seen it. It's gold, and has awful pictures all over. He was supposed to disappear, but he didn't, because he still got people to believe in him, and fight for him.'

Luke.

He had vowed to tear Olympus down piece by piece. Did he know that it would take more than that? That Kronos didn't just mean to take over Olympus? To win, he had to erase the entire world and start anew. You couldn't get rid of the gods unless you removed all their traces from the fabric of society.

Starting with their demigod children.

Now Percy was telling Briares about Luke's plan, and how we had to stop him. Briares just kept shaking his head sadly, convinced of his own inability to help.

'Maybe that's why monsters fade. Maybe it's not about what the mortals believe. Maybe it's because you give up on yourself.'

If Percy thought this might goad Briares into action, he was sorely mistaken. Briares turned away, his anguish thicker than ever, and slunk off without a word. He disappeared into a dark tunnel.

We stood in the room of falling water for a while, listening to the sound of Tyson's sobs mingling with the flow of the waterfall. Our failure to convince Briares to join us left a bitter taste in my mouth.

Light shimmered through the falling water, casting our faces in an unearthly glow. It made Percy, Tyson, and Grover look uncannily like the Oracle's impression of them as they delivered the lines of my prophecy.

 _The child of Athena's final stand._

As if I needed a reminder that this was my quest, my responsibility. My job to stop Luke before he could do something irreversible.

'Come on, guys,' I said. I didn't know if the pit really led to Tartarus, but I wanted to get away from it nonetheless. 'Let's find a better place to camp for the night.'

We continued on our way, down a deep, sloping tunnel. The sound of the waterfalls followed us down the passage, roaring in our ears at first, then fading to a muffled trickle, like the water source was creeping through the walls alongside us. They'd become really old now, crackled marble that looked like it had been weathered by years of harsh Mediterranean sunlight and salt spray. Dark, rust-coloured smears ran across them.

Tyson was still crying. He was so miserable, Grover forgot he was terrified of Cyclopes and walked alongside him, trying to cheer him up. I fell into step beside them and slipped my hand into Tyson's. He looked at me and attempted a watery smile.

Percy walked ahead of us, lighting the way with Riptide. At the next fork, he gave me an expectant look.

Again, I saw the shadow of Janus, one face leering into each path. _Choose, Annabeth._

I pushed him away. We had a quest to complete. I couldn't lead if I was worrying incessantly about what-ifs.

I put my hand against the wall. The passage on our right had crude etchings, like ancient war décor. It was probably the better path.

We carried on. There was a light at the end of this tunnel. It widened into a stone corridor with bronze braziers lining the walls. The glow of the torches threw eerie shadows around us.

I studied the walls. They were still made of weathered marble, huge blocks of it piled all the way up. I couldn't make out the ceiling. We'd been wandering along this old section for a while now, and the architecture hadn't changed much. It was a good sign. Maybe it was only the outer layers that were random and haphazard from growing in the thousands of years since the original Labyrinth had been constructed. Maybe we had finally entered the heart of the maze, a more consistent structure. We must be close to our goal now.

Cheered by this thought, I suggested we make camp. I didn't feel much like sleeping, but the others probably needed a break. Tyson had finally stopped crying. He and Grover shuffled into the bronze light, looking exhausted. I told them to take a rest while I kept watch.

I picked a spot under one of the bronze torches and directed my flashlight beam into the darkened corridors. I could hear Grover's snoring, and the low murmur of Percy and Tyson's voices. After a while, they faded away. Tyson's loud, rattling snores joined Grover's.

Something slid over the ground behind me.

'Hey.' Percy had pulled his bedroll over.

'You should sleep.'

He took a seat inches from me. 'Can't. You doing all right?'

I studied my hands in the flickering light of the torches. 'Sure. First day leading the quest. Just great.'

I knew he didn't believe me for a second. But he just smiled and said, 'We'll get there. We'll find the workshop before Luke does.'

Luke was probably down here somewhere as well. I guessed he'd entered from San Francisco, but that gave me no clue as to how far he might have progressed within the magical spaces of the maze.

'I just wish the quest was logical. I mean, we're travelling, but we have no idea where we'll end up.' I spread my arms. 'How can you walk from New York to California in a day?'

Percy shrugged. 'Space isn't the same in the maze.'

He'd adjusted pretty quickly to that idea. 'I know, I know,' I sighed. 'It's just …' In the dim interior of the maze, surrounded by ancient walls and paths I couldn't fathom, it was hard to keep up a veneer of confidence.

And this was Percy. I lied to him about as well as I lied to myself.

'Percy, I was kidding myself,' I admitted. 'All that planning and reading—' I had long lost track of our possible position on any of my maps.

Percy had been right all along, when he'd said that my research wasn't enough. I guess I'd known it, too. But I'd convinced myself I could do it. Why did I always do that?

'You're doing great,' Percy said. 'Besides, we never know what we're doing. It always works out.' He thought for a moment, then reminded me of our quest last summer, and the one before that: all the times we'd run into something unexpected and worked our way out of it.

All the stuff I'd solved. Percy had done just as much, but he was careful to pick examples where I'd prevailed, just to buoy me up. I smiled gratefully.

This was why I needed him here. Percy was the one friend I could rely on when things got tough. When I was with him, I could believe that between the two of us, we'd find the answer.

Hera's unhelpful response to my wish crept into my head.

'Percy, what did Hera mean when she said you knew the way to get through the maze?'

He looked like I'd just sprung a pop quiz on him that he'd failed. 'I don't know. Honestly.'

'You'd tell me if you did?'

'Sure.' He pursed his lips. 'Maybe …'

'Maybe what?'

He twisted his hands in his lap. 'Maybe if you told me the last line of the prophecy, it would help.'

My insides shrivelled. The tunnels were silent, anticipatory like the calm before a storm. The shadowy light turned Percy's face almost into a stranger's. I closed my eyes and looked away. I couldn't tell him. Not now.

'What about the choice Janus mentioned?' Percy pressed on. 'Hera said—'

'Stop!' I shuddered. The flash of steel appeared again above his head. I blinked and it was gone, but there was the echo of Janus's voice: _choose._

Percy looked taken aback.

'I'm sorry,' I said. 'I'm—I'm just stressed.' I wanted to claim I didn't know what Hera was talking about either, but my mind drifted to Luke, standing on my doorstep. _'You choose him.'_

I'd made the right choice, hadn't I?

Percy found my hand. Ordinarily, this might have made me flustered, wondering what he meant by it, but down here, with the maze shifting around us, it was a welcome gesture of comfort. He squeezed my fingers once before letting go.

The strain of our day caught up to me at last. My adrenaline seeped away. When Percy offered to take first watch instead, I didn't argue.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

 **A/N** : The references to Annabeth's past visit to Alcatraz are expanded in Chapter 26 of my previous story, The Necklace of Harmonia. This chapter (and the last, come to think of it) draws pretty heavily from canon now that they're actually in the maze, so most dialogue is from _BotL._ Unfortunately it's going to keep that way for a while—no real way around it, since Annabeth is on-screen in canon for about 80% of the book. I hope that I've managed to put enough of a new spin on it that it doesn't feel too repetitive, though!

Thanks this week to **Hello, OverLordRevan, Livvi May, JustADerangedFanGirl, VCRx,** and **Thunderwolf7226** for your ongoing encouragement! I hope you've liked this one as well! (Sneak title preview for next chapter: 'Percy Lands A Triple Shot' ... I guess you know what's coming next!)


	13. Percy Lands A Triple Shot

Chapter 13: Percy Lands A Triple Shot

Even in my dreams, I couldn't escape the Labyrinth.

I was following Luke and another guy, trudging through a section of the maze that curved overhead and was lined with straight bars and steel cable, like a subway tunnel. Luke held a lantern ahead of him, lighting up the steel tracks on the ground. Gravel crunched beneath their shoes.

'This doesn't look right, sir,' said the other guy. He held a map up to the light, peering at it through large, wire-framed glasses.

Luke cursed and snatched the map away. 'I don't get it! I've come through it fine before!'

' _Maybe because you have entered with a destination in mind._ '

'What?' Luke said.

His companion shook his head. 'I didn't say anything.'

The voice was low and sinister, and vaguely familiar. It seemed to issue out of the tunnel walls. ' _Without a destination, you may just end up where you_ need _to be. But if you enter with a goal in mind, you will never get there without clear sight …_ '

The map fluttered from the bespectacled boy's fingers. 'It's haunted!'

'Don't be stupid,' Luke snapped. 'Nothing's haunting this place. It's just the maze. It's designed to play tricks on your mind. It's—'

' _Oh, it's treacherous,_ ' said the disembodied voice. ' _And I've helped it along._ '

'Who's there?' Luke demanded. He raised his sword. The blade, half-steel, half-celestial bronze, reflected off his lantern. 'Show yourself!'

There was a faint shimmer. The outline of a man appeared in front of the subway beam. He was flimsy and translucent, his ghostly features unclear in the dark.

'Hello, son of Hermes,' said the ghost. 'I have come to make a deal with you. I understand you are looking for powerful half-bloods. I think I have just what you need …'

Luke pointed his sword at the ghost. 'Explain quickly. We're on a deadline here.'

The ghost spread his hands. 'I shall. I have already arranged a trade for you at the ranch. But first …' He stared straight at me, and I swear he could see me, even in the dream. The ghost made a warding gesture, a bit like the three-fingered claw we used to head off evil spirits, except he waved his clenched fist in a ring.

The subway tunnel vanished. I was back in our marble corridor with the bronze torches, lying on Percy's bedroll. My head lolled against his calf.

I jerked up. Percy started.

'What time is it?' I said stupidly, before I remembered time had no meaning in the Labyrinth.

Percy rubbed his calf with a grimace. It must have fallen asleep under my head.

'Did I—?'

'It's nothing,' he muttered.

'You should have woken me up,' I said. Thank the gods he couldn't see me blushing in the darkness.

'You were tired. It's fine.' He stretched out his leg. 'Everything okay?'

'Yeah, just—' I shook my head. 'Dreams. The usual, you know.'

I took over the watch so Percy could get some rest. While he slept, I went over my maps by flashlight. I still couldn't pinpoint where we were in relation to them. I was beginning to think it was useless to try.

At least we were in the right part of the Labyrinth, the oldest part. And if my dream was right, Luke was out in a newer area. We should be way closer to Daedalus than he was. But almost as soon as we set out again, my hopes were dashed. We passed from the marble corridor straight into a section like a dugout tunnel, with wooden beams running in criss-cross patterns above our heads. When I looked back, the stone walls behind us had vanished like they had never existed.

'This isn't right,' I murmured. How could the stone just disappear like that? Even if we'd moved into a different section, the old walls should still be behind us.

The light breakfast I'd eaten curdled in my stomach. I'd been so sure we were close. I'd made the most reasonable guesses I could, and all I got was this … this misdirection. It was just like I'd told Percy—there was no logic to any of it.

We reached a limestone cave and Percy stopped suddenly. He bent over a shallow rectangular depression in the earth, directing his flashlight into it. A moment later, he snapped the light back up and said sharply, 'Nico. He was summoning the dead again.'

I remembered him saying something about it last night. I hadn't spared much thought for Nico di Angelo in the middle of my headaches of trying to figure out the maze, but I knew Percy was still worried about the kid.

'We've got to find him,' Percy said. And he took off, his sneakers slapping against the dirt floor.

'Percy!' I sprinted after him, terrified. If I lost sight of him, the maze might separate us permanently. Luckily, he didn't go far. He stopped in a pool of light that shone down through an open manhole cover—another exit.

'Moo!'

Metal bars were striped across the open ceiling. A cow put his nose to the opening in the grate and sniffed at Percy's hair.

A bright red cow. And when I say red, I mean red like tomatoes, or cherries, or the Golden Gate Bridge on a sunny day.

'It's a cattle grid,' Grover said, pointing to the bars. 'They put them at the gates of ranches so the cows can't get out.'

'Didn't Hera say something about a ranch?' Percy recalled. 'We need to check it out. Nico might be up there.'

I wasn't keen to derail our quest in search of Nico di Angelo, but part of me felt responsible for him. After all, it was thanks to me that he no longer had a sister.

Tyson bust us out of the tunnel by punching out the cattle grid. After the tight confines of the maze, the expanse of land and sky that lay before us was a shock. So was the blazing hot sun, which sent waves of heat across our skin. We were in an open field, surrounded by more bright red cattle.

'The cattle of the sun,' I realised.

Percy scratched his head. 'What?'

'They're sacred to Apollo,' I explained.

'Holy cows?' He quirked an eyebrow at one of them. It raised its head and gave him a baleful _Moo!_ before going back to grazing.

'Exactly,' I said. What were Apollo's cows doing _here_ though? And where was here?

Grover held up his hand. 'Wait—listen.'

His keen ears picked up the barking before the rest of us. A pair of dogs cantered through a woodsy hill on one side of the cattle ranch. They leapt out from a clump of bushes.

We stared in shock. They weren't a pair of dogs but a single one, like Cerberus minus one head. Also, this one was a greyhound, with long floppy ears whipping around suspiciously as it growled at us.

The two-headed dog was followed by a broad-shouldered ranchhand, the kind of guy who looked like he'd spent all his life wrestling with bulls. Bare-handed. He was easily double Tyson's size, and Tyson wasn't exactly petite. His denim jacket looked like the sleeves had fallen off when he flexed. In his arm, he carried a a club that the Ares kids would have died for.

'Heel, Orthus.' At his command, the two-headed dog hastened to his master's feet, all the while still growling at us.

'What've we got here?' He had a deep, southern drawl. Texan, maybe. 'Cattle rustlers?'

I explained quickly who we were.

To no one's surprise, the ranchhand introduced himself as a son of Ares. 'Eurytion,' he said. 'The cowherd for this here ranch. You came through the Labyrinth like the other one, I reckon.'

Percy picked up on this right away. 'The other one? You mean like Nico di Angelo?'

Eurytion neither confirmed nor denied it. 'We get a load of visitors from the Labyrinth,' he said cryptically. Then, more ominously, 'Not many ever leave.'

'Wow, I feel welcome,' Percy muttered. I elbowed him in the ribs.

'I'm only going to say this once, demigods.' Eurytion leaned towards us, casting a wary glance over his shoulder. 'Get back in the maze now—before it's too late.'

The wise thing to do would've been to take his advice and get back on our quest. But given Eurytion's caginess about the other half-blood …

I thought of Luke, wandering the Labyrinth in the night. 'We're not leaving. Not until we see this other demigod. Please,' I added as an afterthought.

Eurytion looked at us like, _your funeral._ 'Then you leave me no choice, missy. I've got to take you to see the boss.'

From Eurytion's appearance, I expected him and his boss to live in a rodeo barn. The ranch house came as a shock. It sat on a hill at the edge of the woods, a white stone building with cascading windows. They were lined with wooden panels that made it look like each level had been built into the hill rather than on top of it.

'It looks like a Frank Lloyd Wright!' I marvelled. My eighth-grade teacher had had pictures of the renown architect's best buildings in her office. Could this be an original? I certainly hadn't expected to find one in the middle of the prairie.

Eurytion gave us a rundown of the rules of our visit before we entered—no fighting, no weapons, no personal remarks about the boss. It became clear as soon as we stepped onto the front porch why he'd added the last rule.

The boss had three chests. And I mean actual human chests, split from his neck and reconnected at his waist like some weird paper-chain doll.

'Say hello to Mr Geryon,' Eurytion said.

'Nice chests,' Percy said automatically, breaking rule number three before we could even make nice. 'Er—ranch!' he corrected quickly. 'Nice ranch you have.'

'Geryon,' someone said from inside the building, 'I won't wait for—'

It was Nico di Angelo. He slid back the glass door and stepped out onto the porch, stopping dead when he saw us gathered there. It had been no more than half a year since I'd seen him, but he looked like he'd gotten several years older. His hair was long and shaggy, his eyes hollow and ringed with shadows. He'd transformed from the geeky little kid playing with trading cards to an angsty teenager. Except your average teenager didn't carry the wickedly sharp blade Nico now produced. I'd never seen a sword so black. It seemed to exude darkness the same way my Celestial bronze dagger issued light.

'Put that away, Mr di Angelo,' Geryon said sharply. 'I ain't gonna have my guests killing each other.'

'But that's—'

'Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase, and a couple of their monster friends,' Geryon said. 'Yes, I know.'

'Monster friends?' Geryon huffed.

I was more worried about the fact that Geryon already knew our names before we'd introduced ourselves. He claimed it was his business to stay informed, but it sounded very much like he'd been spying on us. Or someone had prepared him for our arrival.

After some coercion, Geryon managed to get Nico to stow his weapon. Nico was clearly reluctant to relinquish his sword in Percy's presence. He seemed to think Percy was here to finish him off. He obviously blamed Percy for Bianca's death, which made my insides shrivel with guilt. It was me that Nico should be angry at.

But Geryon didn't give us the chance to discuss any of this. 'Come along, folks,' he said in a faux-jovial tone. 'I want to give you a tour of the ranch.'

If we'd even considered for a moment that the tour was optional, the way Eurytion raised his club would have quickly disabused us of the notion. Orthus snapped at our heels, herding us towards Geryon's ranch buggy. It was like a trolley train, with a driver's car up front and the passenger cart hitched to the back. We piled into the six-seater buggy and it started chugging down the hill.

The ranch spanned an incredible expanse of land. It stretched across miles of hilly terrain, acres upon acres of grazing grounds. The air was sweltering hot, the kind of moist, sticky heat that makes your clothes cling to you and your hair plaster against the back of your neck. The animals didn't seem to mind. They roamed their pastures contentedly, eating and grooming and dozing under the scorching sun. Geryon announced each one as we passed, like an enthusiastic safari ranger pointing out the sights: horses, and cattle, and—

'Hippalek-tryons?' My stepbrothers had a picture book of prehistoric animals—dodo-birds and mammoths and the like. I'd seen the rooster-horse hybrids that appeared in front of us in that book. 'I thought they were extinct!'

Tyson leaned out of the buggy to get a better look. 'Rooster ponies! Do they lay eggs?'

'Once a year! Very much in demand for omelettes.'

I stared at him, aghast. 'That's horrible. They must be an endangered species.'

Geryon sniffed. 'Gold is gold, darling. And you haven't tasted the omelettes.'

It soon became clear that threatening endangered animals wasn't Geryon's only crime. This was no preservation ranch. He was running a glorified factory farm. Every animal here, from the poor Hippalek-tryons to the scorpions that Quintus must have acquired for capture the flag, was raised purely for profit.

And I had a feeling I knew just who Geryon's most lucrative buyer was.

We finished the tour at the very end of the ranch compound, where Geryon had his prize stables. It was immediately clear why he kept these valuable animals so far away from the main ranch house. The smell was overpowering. Imagine the world's most disgusting sewer, mingled with the dirtiest public toilet, and then multiply that by a hundred.

I gagged, partly from the stench, partly from the way Geryon discussed his profits with relish. Who cared if his flesh-eating horses had miserable living conditions, as long as his clients paid well?

'You're a monster,' I said. 'And the clients you keep talking about—you work for Kronos, don't you? You're supplying his army with horses, food, whatever they need.' It turned my stomach to think of these very animals being pressed into service this summer, with Luke leading them into camp. I clenched my fists. It was more imperative than ever that we get to Daedalus. I wished we hadn't insisted on coming to the ranch.

'I work for anyone with gold, young lady. I'm a businessman. And I sell them anything I have to offer.' Geryon stopped the train and got out, crossing his arms over his multiple chests and surveying the stinking stables with an air of satisfaction.

Nico clambered out of the buggy and strode up to him. ' _I_ came here for business, Geryon. And you haven't answered me.'

Geryon considered him for a moment. 'Yes, you'll get a deal, all right,' he said carefully.

'My ghost told me you could help. He said you could guide us to the soul we need.'

Percy got to his feet. 'Wait a second—I thought _I_ was the soul you wanted.'

'You?' Nico practically spat the word out. 'Why would I want _you?_ Bianca's soul is worth a thousand of yours!' He turned back to Geryon. 'Now, can you help me, Geryon, or not?'

I didn't like the way Geryon was smiling. 'Oh, I imagine I could. Your ghost friend, by the way, where is he?'

A chill crept over me in spite of the tropical heat.

'He can't form in broad daylight,' Nico said. 'It's hard for him. But he's around somewhere.'

Geryon's smile grew even more sinister. 'I'm sure. Minos likes to disappear when things get … difficult.'

 _Minos? King_ Minos?

Percy had reached the same conclusion. ' _That's_ the ghost who's been giving you advice?'

'It's none of your business, Percy!' Nico snapped. Of Geryon, he demanded, 'What do you mean about things getting difficult?'

'Well, you see, Nico—can I call you Nico?' He continued despite Nico's refusal, 'You see, Nico, Luke Castellan is offering very good money for half-bloods. Especially powerful half-bloods.'

The shiver that ran through me had a distinct thrill of fear. _I have already arranged a trade for you at the ranch._ Was this the same ghost whispering to Nico? Had we walked straight into a trap?

'I'm sure when he learns your little secret, who you really are, he'll pay very, very well indeed,' Geryon told Nico.

Percy and I exchanged worried looks. We hadn't told anyone who Nico's dad really was. I wasn't even sure if Nico himself knew.

Nico produced his sword. As soon as he did, Eurytion's club came up, knocking it into a clump of bushes several feet away. Orthus sprang onto our laps and bared his teeth inches from Percy's throat.

The fight was over before it had even started. Eurytion sighed and secured Nico under one beefy arm. With his other hand, he picked up Nico's black sword between his thumb and forefinger, as if it were a dangerous explosive.

Geryon rubbed his hands gleefully. 'Now we've had the tour, let's go back to the lodge, have some lunch … and send an Iris-message to our friends in the Titan army.'

My heart sank. 'You fiend!'

'Don't worry, my dear. Once I've delivered Mr di Angelo, you and your party can go. I don't interfere with quests. Besides, I've been paid well to give you safe passage—which does not, I'm afraid, include Mr di Angelo.'

My jaw dropped. 'Paid by whom? What do you mean?'

'Never you mind, darlin',' Geryon said airily. 'Let's be off, shall we?'

'Wait!' Percy interrupted. 'Geryon, you said you're a businessman. Make me a deal.'

'Percy …' I hissed. What was he doing? This was our chance to get out of here.

'What sort of deal?' Geryon said suspiciously. 'Do you have gold?'

'I've got something better,' Percy said, ignoring my warning look. 'Barter.'

Geryon surveyed all of us. 'But, Mr Jackson, you've got nothing.'

'You could have him clean the stables,' Eurytion said casually. I raised my eyebrows. Whose side was he on?

'I'll do it!' And Percy proceeded to make the craziest gamble I'd ever heard him make (and I'd heard plenty by now). He'd clean the stables, and the deal was all of us, or nothing.

'All right, I'll accept your offer,' Geryon said. But then he upped the stakes: Percy had to finish by sunset. 'If you fail, your friends get sold, and I get rich.'

I tried to catch Percy's eye, to tell him this was the worst idea he'd ever had, but he was looking straight at Geryon. 'Deal.'

'I'm going to take your friends with me, back to the lodge,' Geryon said. 'We'll wait for you there.'

Eurytion let out a sharp whistle. Orthus bounded from Percy's lap to mine. I let out a squeak as he growled, his menacing glare now trained on me.

Percy climbed out of the buggy. I gave him a pleading look, though it was too late to back out now. 'I hope you know what you're doing.'

His reply wasn't exactly comforting. 'I hope so, too.'

Geryon got back into the cab. Eurytion dumped Nico in the rear and got in next to him. The train made its way back up the ranch, leaving Percy by the stinking stables with his impossible task.

As soon as we got back to the ranch house, Geryon and Eurytion bound us one by one. Tyson's fists came up when Eurytion came to tie him up, but Orthus's teeth snapped dangerously close to my throat. Tyson looked at me helplessly with his one big eye, and succumbed to the binds.

We sat trussed up in a corner of the porch, listening to Geryon order Eurytion to haul out the barbecue. He kept talking to us as he put up party decorations: streamers and banners that spelt out, _WELCOME TITAN KIDS!_ Or it could have been _WE COME TO KILL._

'I love a good party. And there's nothing better than sun cattle patties for the grill. Ain't that right, Eurytion?'

Eurytion didn't answer. He sat at the picnic table with a sour look, probably because he'd been pressed into blowing up balloons.

Orthus stayed perilously close to me, growling occasionally to remind us of his presence. Only when Geryon fired up the barbecue did he leave to snatch a bite of holy beef.

Grover's nose wrinkled at the smell of cooking meat. 'Do you think he'll make us eat it?'

'That's probably the least of our problems, Grover,' I said.

'Percy will save us,' Tyson said. 'Percy will make the bad man go away.'

It was true that Percy was good at coming up with stuff on the fly, but this was insanely dangerous. And now that Geryon wanted to sell us _all_ to the Titan army, it would be twice as hard to escape.

The ropes holding me were painfully tight around my wrists. I wriggled them and bumped into Nico, who was fuming silently.

'Nico?' I said. 'What did you mean, when you asked Geryon to guide you to the soul you wanted?'

Nico glowered at me. At first I thought he wasn't going to answer. Then he said in a small, hurt voice, 'Bianca shouldn't have died.'

'I know.' My chest felt hollow. 'But that's not Percy's fault, Nico.'

'He told me I could get her back. He promised—a soul for a soul.'

'Who? Minos? Nico, you can't—'

'Eurytion!' Geryon complained. 'The chatter's getting tiresome. Do something about that, will you?'

Eurytion lumbered over. He looked like he was sick of taking Geryon's orders, but he obediently stuffed a gag in my mouth, then each of the others'. The cloth smelt like it had been used to mop up the same stables Percy was now trying to clean.

The sun crept lower and lower towards the horizon. There was no sign of Percy. I tried to spot the stables in the distance, but they were too far away. If he didn't return … No, I didn't want to think about that.

Why had he made the bargain? If he hadn't said anything, we would have been free to go—well, except for Nico. Now we were all at risk. He'd essentially traded us in to save Nico.

I looked at Nico. Stripped of his sword and swagger, he seemed no older than my stepbrothers, or my cousin Magnus. Just another forlorn, abandoned half-blood child. I guess I could understand why Percy had made his bargain.

I didn't like the way Nico had spoken of Minos, a disembodied spirit giving him advice. It reminded me of Kronos whispering in Luke's ears, swaying him. Was it even truly Minos that Nico was listening to?

And who had paid for our safe passage? Who could have known we would stumble on Geryon's ranch? A part of me hoped it was Luke, even though that didn't make any sense.

I hated not knowing who was meddling in our quest.

The shadows on the porch grew long. It was almost sunset. Geryon looked across the ranch at the low-hanging sun, then at his watch. He grinned slowly.

'Well, I guess you won't have to feed the horses tonight,' he told Eurytion. 'As for our guests …'

'Let them go!'

My heart leapt. There was Percy, running back towards the house. 'I cleaned the stables!'

'Did you, now?' Geryon said. He sounded like he was asking about the weather. 'How'd you manage it?'

Percy burst out something about a river and a naiad and a bunch of seashells. Geryon congratulated him, but there was a sly smile playing around his lips. I knew then he wasn't going to hold up his end of the bargain.

I strained against my gag, trying to warn Percy, but the only sound that came out was, _auuuff arrrrgh._

'Did you make me swear on the River Styx?' Geryon said. 'No you didn't. So it's not binding. When you're conducting business, sonny, you should always get a binding oath.'

I wanted to slap the smirk off his cheating face. Percy's sword came up at the ready. Orthus dropped his beef patty and returned to menace Grover.

'Eurytion, the boy is starting to annoy me,' Geryon said. 'Kill him.'

I struggled against my bonds but only succeeded at chafing my wrists further. Then Eurytion did something that shocked me into stillness.

'Kill him yourself.' He stepped back and plonked himself down at the picnic table. I wasn't surprised that he'd finally had enough of Geryon's orders. Pity he hadn't decided he was fed up with fighting Geryon's battles an hour or so ago.

It was a good thing Orthus seemed to be under Eurytion's control and not Geryon's. The two-headed dog trotted back to the barbecue, leaving Percy free to fight Geryon.

It had been a while since I'd seen Percy in action. I was proud to see that he hadn't lost any of his skill. Riptide flashed through the air masterfully, parrying Geryon's attacks, countering with a thrust that should have felled the rancher … if he didn't have two back-up chests.

My heart sank. Percy's sword would never be able to kill this monster. He needed a different weapon, something that could pierce three hearts at once. Something like …

I tried to scream at him to find a spear or a javelin, but all I could manage from behind the gag was a muffled squeal.

After two more futile sticks with the sword, Percy seemed to realise his problem as well. Geryon laughed and raised the fork from the barbecue. It made a mini trident in his hands, the points wickedly sharp.

Percy ran for the house.

Geryon shook his barbecue fork. His face was flushed with excitement and bloodlust. 'Coward! Come back and die right!'

Percy came back, all right. From our corner, we saw him pull a bow and arrow off the wall. In a move worthy of the Hunters of Artemis, he lunged to the side and took a shot.

The arrow went clean through Geryon's right chest, zipped through the centre, and exited the left. A perfect triple shot.

Geryon looked down at his chests in disbelief. 'You can't shoot,' he said. 'They told me you couldn't …'

He never got to explain who 'they' were. The arrows had done their job. His three hearts stopped beating. Geryon crumbled into monster dust in the doorway.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

 **A/N:** So timeline-wise, I know it's a bit fudged as Luke is apparently back on Mount Tam with Kelli and Kampê, talking about negotiating the arena while they're all on the ranch … but hey, time is skewed in the Labyrinth, right? I reckon he could have left once he and Minos made their deal, especially since Geryon's death kind of messed things up.

Thank you to VCRx, Hello, CQ816, OverLordRevan, Thunderwolf7226, ArtimuosJackson, MariaClaire, Kyleryan, and the Anon guest for stopping by this week!

Anon: thank you so much, binge-reading the series is a massive compliment. :)

Heads up that I might be a little slow at responding to comments this week as the first batch of marking for the term has just landed so I'm going to be knee deep in student lab reports all week. I'll still read your reviews and am very grateful for them; I just may not be able to write something back right off! (I'm also praying I'll get the marking done in time to get chapter 14 on schedule next Saturday, especially as I'm meant to be headed for a weekend away Saturday morning!)


	14. We Hold A Moonlit Séance

Chapter 14: We Hold A Moonlit Séance

The first thing Percy did once he got us all untied was fire up the barbecue. I was just thinking stable-cleaning must have worked up a real appetite, when he chucked Geryon's burgers straight into the flames and offered up a thank-you to Artemis and Apollo.

I decided not to mention that the patties were from Apollo's own cows.

Eurytion stayed at his picnic table, observing us with an inscrutable expression. Grover and Nico were all for giving him a taste of his own medicine, but I held them back. It wasn't Eurytion's fault he'd been stuck under Geryon's thumb for so long. Besides, he'd stood up to his boss in the end. Maybe a little late, but still.

'How long will it take Geryon to re-form?' Percy asked.

Eurytion considered this. 'A hundred years? He's not one of those fast re-formers, thank the gods.'

How long must Eurytion have worked for Geryon to know this? I got my answer a moment later when he explained that he'd taken up his dad on an offer of immortality and ended up with this deal ever since.

'Worst mistake I ever made,' he admitted.

Percy caught my eye. For some reason, this made me recall how close I'd come last year to accepting my own offer of immortality by joining the Hunters—although I would still have been mortal in combat, like Bianca had been. Nico scowled. I guess he was thinking about that, too. Eternal maidenhood had a steep price: no fraternising with boys. There was no such thing as a perfect offer.

That reminded me of something else.

'Your boss said that somebody paid for our safe passage. Who?'

'Maybe he was just saying that to fool you,' Eurytion said.

It didn't sound like it to me, but it was clear Eurytion hadn't a clue what Geryon had meant.

'What about the Titans?' Percy asked. 'Did you Iris-message them about Nico yet?'

Eurytion shook his head. 'Nope. Geryon was waiting until after the barbecue. They don't know anything about him.'

Percy turned to Nico with relief. 'You could stay here until we're done with our quest. It would be safe.'

Nico glared at him. ' _Safe?_ What do you care if I'm safe?' His lower lip trembled. 'You—you got my sister killed!'

'Nico, that wasn't Percy's fault,' I said. 'And Geryon wasn't lying about Kronos wanting to capture you.' Did he know how great his danger was? 'If he knew who you were, he'd do anything to get you on his side.'

Nico's lower lip stuck out in a pout. 'I'm not on anyone's side. And I'm not afraid.'

If he were _my_ little brother, I'd want him to be safe. 'You should be. Your sister—'

Nico rounded on me before I could tell him how Bianca would have felt. 'If you cared for my sister, you'd help me bring her back!'

I swallowed hard. The nugget of guilt that I could never really dissolve lodged uncomfortably in my throat.

Nico wouldn't be dissuaded. How could we persuade a bratty ten-year-old (or maybe he was eleven now) that we had his best interests at heart? I felt a twinge of sympathy for Chiron, for my dad, for everyone who'd ever tried to keep me safe as a kid.

Then Percy suggested, 'Let's ask Bianca.'

'I've tried! She won't answer,' Nico said.

'Try again. I've got a feeling she'll answer, with me here,' Percy said.

Tyson sidled closer to me. 'Bianca is Percy's friend?'

'Nico's sister,' I said. 'She … died, last year.'

'Percy wants to talk to a ghost?'

'Um …'

I realised this was _exactly_ Percy's plan. And it could be disastrous. Summoning spirits was a risky business. It was too easy to invoke the wrong one. We already knew the ghost of Minos—or someone masquerading as him—was out there, haunting the Labyrinth and doling out bad advice.

 _You shall rise or fall by the ghost king's hand._

'Percy, I don't think this is a good idea.'

Nico looked at his hands as though wondering if they held enough power. 'All right, I'll try.'

The full moon glared down at us as we gathered around a septic tank pit to conduct the séance. I could've sworn it had only been a sliver when we'd started on our quest. Nico poured root beer and charred barbecue meat into the pit. He began to recite an ancient Greek chant. Where had he picked that up? Maybe it was natural to children of Hades, the way Percy could summon water and Luke could pick locks without even trying.

The third line of my prophecy kept ringing in my ears. This wasn't a good time to call on ghosts, friendly or not. I was sure of it.

Nico kept chanting. Deprived of the sun's heat, the night air was freezing. Or maybe it was the mist that swirled up in front of the septic tank, distorting the garish smiley face painted on it. Spirits rose from the ground, congregating at the edge of the pit. Hunger crawled off them, so intense that I didn't think our burnt barbecue could possibly satiate them. These weren't like the spirits I'd seen before in Asphodel, or even the Fields of Punishment. They were worse. They wanted something from us, yearned for it.

'Stop him!' Nico cried, pointing at one spirit who had crouched over the pit. 'Only Bianca may drink!'

His warning came too late. The ghost lapped up the root beer like a dog. Percy raised his sword, which scared the other spirits away. They drew back into a formless huddle against the septic tank.

The spirit who had already drunk expelled a satisfied, _ahhh,_ like in those Coke ads after the actor takes their first sip. The liquid dribbled down his chin, then around the contours of a body, inking in his shape.

A thin torso cloaked in bright, white robes. A cruel, pointed beard. A thin crown that glittered gold under the moonlight. That was the only part of him that wasn't shimmery and translucent.

I drew back instinctively. This was the man who had commissioned his Labyrinth and thrown countless Athenians inside to die. By all accounts, he'd also imprisoned his inventor when his devious plans for the maze had backfired.

This was a man who had condemned his deformed son and locked his seven-year-old daughter in a barn because they embarrassed him.

King Mino's eyes still gleamed with thousands of years of unexecuted vengeance.

Nico stopped his chanting to scold Minos, who didn't look at all apologetic as he surveyed us with his malevolent glare. The circle of spirits glowed with restless energy. Nico returned quickly to his ritual.

'Yes, master, you keep chanting,' Minos said with a smirk. The word _master_ dripped with irony. 'I've only come to protect you from these liars who would deceive you.'

Even with Nico's chanting, the spirits' restlessness intensified. They were prowling the pit again. I got the feeling Minos was stirring them up somehow.

Minos sneered at Percy. 'Do you really believe Daedalus will help you? Daedalus cares nothing about you half-bloods. You can't trust him.'

As if Minos would know. He'd mistreated the brilliant inventor for years.

'He is old beyond counting,' Minos continued, 'and crafty. He is bitter from the guilt of murder and is cursed by the gods.'

I didn't know what truth there was to this slander. Chiron had said that there were various rumours about Daedalus, many disturbing. Some even claimed he had murdered Minos himself. But there was always malicious gossip about geniuses. Wisdom attracts aspersion, my mother would have said.

'Who did he kill?' Percy asked.

Minos refused to answer the question, turning instead to pander to Nico. 'Master, these are your enemies. You must not listen to them! Let me protect you. I will turn their minds to madness, as I did the others.'

 _Oh, it's treacherous … and I've helped it along._

'The others,' I breathed. 'You mean … Chris Rodriguez? That was _you?_ '

I thought again of Luke, still wandering in the maze. I knew now who he had met last night.

'The maze is _my_ property, not Daedalus's,' Minos growled. 'Those who intrude deserve madness!'

Nico waved his hand impatiently to dispel him. 'I want to see my sister!'

I no longer cared about speaking with Bianca. I was more concerned about what Minos had said. We'd thought it was the maze itself that toyed with our minds, but had it been Minos's work all along? How long had he been hiding in it, twisting the thoughts of its wanderers?

With a final warning to Nico, Minos vanished. The other spirits surged in to take his place. Percy and I brandished our blades and they fell back, muttering unhappily.

'Bianca, appear!' Nico sounded desperate now. The pace of his chanting accelerated.

'Any time now would be good,' Grover said. He was hiding behind Tyson, well out of reach of the clamouring spirits. Tyson had his hands clamped over his eye, too terrified to watch.

The light started out as a speck among the foliage of the trees. It grew brighter and brighter, until it outshone even the moon. I didn't need to be told that it was her, the one we were waiting for. Percy hesitated as she floated down to us, then lowered his sword.

Bianca knelt at the edge of the pit, just as Minos had, and scooped root beer from the ground. She materialised from the head down, becoming a serene, ghostly girl.

Her form, though still translucent, was more solid than Minos's. Maybe it was because she was a daughter of Hades, or maybe because we'd set out to summon her. I could see the pale colours of her knitted cap, the faded blue of her jeans, and the silver ski jacket—the same attire Zoë Nightshade and the Hunters had worn when they'd rescued us at Westover Hall. The faint outline of a bow shimmered against her back. I'd heard that Bianca had joined the Hunters before she'd died, but I'd never really internalised that fact until now. She looked different to how I remembered her, standing straighter, more confident. The ethereal glow around her seemed to be more than just the ghost light.

Then again, I'd barely known her for half an hour. It just felt like I did because I'd been responsible for what happened to her.

'Bianca … I'm so sorry,' Percy said.

Bianca shook her head. 'You have nothing to apologise for, Percy. I made my own choice. I don't regret it.'

I wanted to apologise as well for the part I'd played in the quest that had led to her death, but my voice stuck in my throat. She sounded so calm, so accepting of the consequences of her choices.

Would I have the same courage when it came to _my_ choices?

Nico only just seemed to realise that Bianca was really and truly present. He staggered towards her, calling her name.

'Hello, Nico.' Maybe it was just me, but Bianca didn't sound too joyful about their reunion. 'You've got so tall.'

'Why didn't you answer me sooner? I've been trying for months!'

Bianca cast her eyes downwards. 'I was hoping you'd give up.'

'Give up? How can you say that? I'm trying to save you!'

Her ghostly hand trembled. 'You can't, Nico. Don't do this. Percy is right.'

'No! He let you die!' Nico's eyes grew wide and panicked. 'He's not your friend.'

Bianca sighed. I could tell she'd been trying to avoid this conversation. 'You must listen to me.' She waited until Nico stopped protesting. He stared at her with his lower lip trembling. 'Holding grudges is dangerous for a child of Hades. It is our fatal flaw.'

I'd had this conversation before with Percy. Every hero had a fatal flaw, one that could easily lead to your downfall if you didn't know what it was. Mine was hubris—a deadly pride that left unchecked, could lead to some really bad decisions.

Like believing I could actually conquer an impossible maze.

I shivered. Bianca's warning was harsh, but necessary. I'd seen the way Nico had glared at Percy. Holding grudges … it sounded a lot like Minos and his vengeful attitude. The way he'd punished Daedalus, demanded tributes from the Athenians …

Minos was a demigod son of the Big Three, too. Was that why he'd sought Nico out? Did he sense in him a kindred spirit?

Nico's face got redder and redder as Bianca explained things to him. When he heard that she'd been guiding Percy, he just about exploded. 'Why are you helping him and not me? It's not fair!'

'You are close to the truth now,' Bianca said gently. 'It's not Percy you're mad at, Nico. It's me.'

Something tightened in my chest. Nico's protests struck a chord. For years I'd clung to my fury with my dad for abandoning me. It had been easier than exposing the hurt that lay underneath its protective scab.

How many of us were like that, hiding our fear and grief with anger?

I thought of Luke's expression in San Francisco, after I'd refused to go with him. He'd returned to Kronos in the end. Was it his anger that Kronos had manipulated in order to entice Luke to him?

'You must overcome the anger,' Bianca urged Nico. 'And stop blaming Percy for my choices. It will be your doom.'

'She's right,' I said. 'Kronos is rising, Nico. He'll twist anyone he can to his cause.'

'I don't care about Kronos! I just want my sister back!'

Bianca tried to touch him, to soften the blow of her words, but her hand misted up inches from Nico's face. 'You can't have that, Nico.'

Nico stamped his foot. 'I'm the son of Hades! I _can!_ '

'Don't try. If you love me, don't …' Her eyes widened. She cast a look over her shoulder. The other spirits shifted uncomfortably, as if they, too, sensed something else there.

'Tartarus stirs,' Bianca whispered. 'Your power draws the attention of Kronos.'

The spirits chittered in alarm. Bianca's form flickered. 'The dead must return to the Underworld. It is not safe for us to remain.'

'Wait, please—'

But Bianca said her farewells and the ghosts sank into the ground. Nico fell to his knees. I could see why Bianca hadn't wanted to show up when he'd tried to summon her on his own. Losing her again seemed to have put him into a catatonic state. Eurytion had to carry him back into the ranch house.

We should have headed back out on our quest, but no one wanted to leave Nico when he was so cut up. Eurytion offered us the living room to camp out in for the night.

The living room was spacious, with three leather couches and an armchair. We tried to get Nico settled on one of them, but he just curled up in a corner and refused to come near the rest of us. In the end, Tyson, Percy, and Grover each crashed on a couch, leaving me with the armchair. It had antlers sticking up over the back. I hoped the leather wasn't actually made of deerskin.

It was probably the most comfortable night we'd get for a while, but I had a hard time sleeping. I sat there listening to the boys' snores rumble around the room like an erratic orchestra. A loud sniff, quickly muffled up, punctuated the rhythm of the snoring. I glanced over to Nico's corner. He was very still, but I suspected he wasn't asleep.

'Nico?'

Silence, like he was holding his breath. Then another muffled sniff burst forth.

I got up and padded over to him.

'Nico, are you okay?'

'Go away.'

I hesitated. Maybe it was because he looked incredibly lost and forlorn again. Or maybe it was because I still felt responsible for Bianca. Nico no longer had a sister. I was compelled to do something to make up for that loss.

Except I didn't really know _how_ to be a big sister.

Ironically, I found myself wondering what Luke would have done.

There was a thick, fuzzy robe lying across the arm of Grover's couch. I picked it up and carried it over to Nico. Gently, I draped it over him.

Nico looked up. His face was tear-streaked, with a bit of dirt from the pit smeared across his forehead. We stared at each other for a while, then he nodded and pulled Geryon's robe tightly around him.

I left him to grieve in private.

Percy tossed on his couch and muttered, 'Ariadne's string.' I crept closer, listening carefully—sometimes you could tell what Percy was dreaming about from the stuff he said in his sleep—but Percy just groaned and made some unintelligible noises.

'Annabeth?'

I started at the sound of Grover's voice. My face was hot as I stumbled back from Percy.

'I was just—he was talking about—'

Grover wasn't really listening. 'Do you think the animals will be all right?' he asked.

It took me a while to work out what he meant. 'You mean the ones on the ranch? I guess so … now that Geryon's gone. Eurytion can't be as bad.'

Grover sighed and drew his hooves up onto the couch. 'I should have done more for them. What will Pan think of me?'

'He'll think you're the brave satyr who never gave up on finding him,' I said firmly.

'Do you really think he's in the Labyrinth?'

'I don't know.'

'What if he's not? When we were down there, I kept hearing this voice telling me my search was useless, and—'

'Grover, you can't think that way. You heard Minos—he's been hanging around in the maze, driving people crazy. You can't listen to him. You've got to believe in yourself. You _heard_ Pan.'

'I did …'

'He's waiting for you. You're going to find him. I'm sure of it.'

Grover sniffed.

'Look, why don't you …' My eyes fell on an old-fashioned television. 'Try and relax. Put on the TV or something.'

Grover found Geryon's remote. The old TV flickered to life. Grover channel-surfed until he found a programme on dying forests and endangered wildlife in the Pacific Northwest.

'We really need him, Annabeth,' Grover said softly. 'I have to find him before it's too late.'

The camera zoomed out on a massive mountain. We sat in silence, listening to the voice-over talk about the geology of Mount St Helens, with its unique glacial crater, and the importance of conserving the volcano. Eventually, the sound of the Nature Channel lulled me to sleep.

I dreamt I was back on the storm-tossed cliff outside the palace of Crete. A curly-haired boy was next to me, following me down the path towards the Labyrinth. He wasn't much older than I was, maybe sixteen or seventeen. He wore gilded sandals, and a long, bronze sword hung from his belt. The clasp on his cloak shimmered in the moonlight. It was shaped like a seashell, with ridges and bumps that rippled like waves.

'Where are we going, Princess?'

'Shh,' I said. 'You'll see.'

We came up to the heavy, wrought-iron doors that marked the entrance to the Labyrinth. A pair of armed guards slumbered against them. An empty wine bottle lay at their feet.

'Is this—this is it, then?' said the boy.

'This is it,' I confirmed.

He laughed nervously. 'So … any tips for tomorrow?'

'Tomorrow?' I shook my head. 'No—I brought you here because we're going in.'

'What, now?'

'Yes, Theseus,' I said. 'You asked for my help—but I need yours, too.'

The doors were bolted shut, but I touched a point above the bars and drew a triangle with my finger. As soon as I made the last line, the triangle glowed blue, forming a Greek _Delta_ in the metal.

'Touch it,' I told Theseus.

He did as I said. The moment his fingers pressed against the blue _Delta_ , the deadbolts on the door slid open.

'It knows you now,' I said.

Theseus looked alarmed. 'You act like it's alive.'

'You should treat it like it is.' I reached into my pocket and pulled out a palm-sized compass. It was the same one that Daedalus had pressed into Ariadne's hand the night the Labyrinth had been completed. Wrapped around it were fine threads so thin they were like fibres of light. I placed it in Theseus's hand and lined up the north point with the now-fading blue _Delta_ on the door. The end of the thread snaked out to connect the compass to the door.

'Take this,' I said. 'I've set one end to the exit.'

'A string.' Theseus's eyes gleamed in the moonlight. They were glassy green, like the sea. 'So we can find our way back.'

I nodded. 'Exactly. Now come.' I held out my hand. He took it. His palm was cold and clammy.

'You sure you know what you're doing?'

In response, I took the first step into the Labyrinth. It smelt of wet stone, with a hint of rust. 'I—I have not come for some years. My father has prevented me. But I think I remember the way. And he promised I'd have this chance.'

'He?'

'If we get separated, use the string.'

'What about the monster?'

I met his eyes. 'My brother's name is Asterion,' I said quietly. 'And we're going to save him.'

The maze was darker than I remembered, and less familiar, like a pet that had turned savage. The walls were so high, the moonlight barely penetrated the corridor. The compass, with the ball of string wrapped around it, was the only light we had. The deeper in we went, the darker it got, until I could no longer see the night sky at all.

We came to a fork in the path.

'Which way?' Theseus asked.

I turned to him. He wasn't Theseus any more, but Janus, his two faces pointing to the different tunnels. The left face had a shock of sandy hair over it, while the right had messy black hair sticking up in the back. A streak of grey threaded through both sides, meeting in the middle.

One face was Luke's. The other was Percy's.

'Choose, Annabeth,' they said in unison. 'Which will it be?'

I backed away, horrified. The Luke-and-Percy Janus advanced.

'The child of Athena must make her final stand,' Percy said.

'Destroy with a final breath,' Luke said.

'No—please—'

There was a bright flash of light. Hera materialised between me and this horrific version of Janus.

'It is not Annabeth's time,' she told him sternly. To my relief, Janus's face went back to normal. He huffed and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

'Queen Hera,' I gasped.

'You will have to make that choice, you know,' she said. 'But for now, you need to … _wake up!_ '

And she leaned in close and pushed me back to consciousness.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

 **A/N** : I know, I know, I haven't replied to comments at all this week. I'm horrible. But I _am_ grateful to you guys—Hello, Thunderwolf7226, JustADerangedFanGirl, and randomstories7777 for faithfully stopping by, and I hope this chapter is making up for my silence on the review replies. Busy as I am, I will not leave you hanging chapter-wise!


	15. I Cheat On A Test

Chapter 15: I Cheat On A Test

The television was still on when I jolted out of my nightmare. It was still tuned to the Nature Channel, but now Percy was the one sitting up staring at it. His out-of-focus expression indicated that he wasn't really watching the schools of fish swim by on the screen.

'Hey,' he said when he saw me stir.

I couldn't meet his eyes. I had the irrational fear that I would look up and see two faces on him, like in my nightmare.

A moment later, he asked, 'Bad dream?'

'Yeah.'

'Me too,' he said. He gestured to the couches. 'You'd think we'd be able to get a decent night's sleep here, but I guess …' He ran his hand through his hair. 'What was yours about?'

'My dream?' I closed my eyes briefly, then forced myself to look at him. It was just Percy, his hair looking like a rat's nest, but completely normal. 'Nothing. Just … the maze. You know. What about you?'

'Same.'

I remembered he'd been muttering in his sleep. 'Did you dream about Ariadne's string?'

'How did you—' His hand darted to his mouth and rubbed the corners of it. 'Never mind. Yeah. I was …' He lowered his voice, afraid to wake the others.

I got up and came over to his couch. He was lounging with his back against one armrest and his legs stretched length-wise across the seat. I lifted his feet and sat on the other end. He quickly drew his knees up to give me room.

'I was following Luke,' he said cautiously, looking at me as if he expected me to explode. When I didn't say anything, he continued, 'He's on Mount Tam. He was inspecting his army.' Percy described the forces Luke had arrayed: half-bloods and _dracaenae_ and giants … too many monsters to count. 'They're getting ready to march on camp. Kelli was there, too—you know, that vampire cheerleader at my school. And Kampê. She turned up looking for revenge. Luke told her she could come with him. He said she could carry Ariadne's string.'

'But … that sounds like he's already got it!' How was that possible? It was only yesterday I'd dreamt of Luke being lost in the Labyrinth, still searching for Daedalus.

Or was it? The Labyrinth was magical space. Time didn't move linearly in magical places. I didn't have a clue how much time had really passed since we'd left camp. The sun was coming up now, a pink strip on the horizon, but that only proved one night had gone by since we'd emerged onto Geryon's ranch.

'I don't know,' Percy said. 'He also said the deal wasn't complete, and he needed to negotiate safe passage through an arena. That sounds like he doesn't have everything he needs yet.'

'Maybe he meant Kampê could carry the string once they got it. Maybe they're still trying to get to the workshop.'

'Maybe …'

'We _have_ to find Daedalus.' Our time was running out. If Luke had already found the inventor and proposed a bargain, if he was just waiting to seal the deal … 'We have to convince him not to help Luke—it's our only chance.'

But the new deadline made my task feel more insurmountable than ever. The thought of entering the maze again, with its endless, illogical tunnels and taunting crossroads, filled me with despair. I scrunched up my face, trying not to cry.

A warm arm fell across my shoulders. Percy had scooted closer to me. His face was bright red, but he didn't pull away. I leaned my head against his shoulder gratefully, inhaling the salty scent of comfort. Through the window, we watched the sun creep steadily higher, dragging us into a new day.

'Annabeth?' Percy said. 'Do you really think Daedalus can help us?'

I lifted my head. 'Of course he can. He has to.'

'I know, but do you think he can be trusted?'

How did I explain my feelings about Daedalus? Part of it was desperation, I guess. If he couldn't help us, there wasn't anyone else who could. But the guy was also the greatest architect and inventor of ancient Greece. If I were to pick any of the early demigods as a role model, it would be him. I needed to believe that a genius like him, who had designed such clever buildings and created such amazing things, was decent at heart.

'He's really smart,' I said at last. 'He knows lots of things.'

'Knowledge isn't everything.'

I pulled away. 'It's still important.'

Percy looked like he was thinking carefully about his next words. 'What if he's done stuff—really bad stuff?'

'What do you mean?'

Before he could explain, Tyson rolled off his couch and hit the floor with a loud thud that woke Grover and Nico as well. Orthus came bounding into the room, both heads barking at the top of their lungs.

Eurytion made omelettes for breakfast (he assured us they were normal chicken eggs, not Hippalek-tryon). After we had washed them down with orange juice, he walked us to the cattle grid where the Labyrinth entrance was. Nico came with us, which I guess was a good sign. His eyes were red from crying, and he wouldn't look at Percy, even when Percy offered to let him join us. But he looked more tired than angry. He was still wearing the robe I'd covered him with.

'I need time to think,' he said stiffly.

I touched his shoulder. 'Nico, Bianca just wants you to be okay.'

He looked at me with aching eyes. The longing in them almost made me want to stay behind to look after him. Then he turned away and headed back to the ranch house.

I watched him go uneasily. 'I'm worried about him. If he starts talking to Minos's ghost again—'

'He'll be all right,' Eurytion said. 'The boy can stay here and gather his thoughts as long as he wants. He'll be safe, I promise.'

Percy considered this. 'What about you?'

Eurytion smiled. 'Things are going to be run a little different on this ranch from now on.'

Orthus butted him in the legs. He bent to scratch the dog's heads, one after the other. 'No more sacred cattle meat,' he vowed. Grover perked up when he mused about soya-bean patties and training the flesh-eating horses for the rodeo. I guess things really would be turning around for the animals.

'I reckon you'll be looking for Daedalus's workshop now?'

My eyes widened. 'Can you help us?'

Eurytion chewed his lower lip. 'Don't know where it is,' he said slowly. 'But Hephaestus probably would.'

Hera had said the same thing. 'But how do we find Hephaestus?'

Eurytion reached under his shirt. When he extracted his fist, he opened his fingers to reveal a round disc made of burnished silver. It looked like a tiny tea saucer hanging from a silver chain.

'Hephaestus comes here from time to time,' he said, holding the disc out to me. 'Studies the animals and such so he can make bronze automaton copies.' He explained that he'd helped Hephaestus out with a favour regarding Ares and Aphrodite. I tried not to think about what that might have involved. I'd seen first-hand what sort of traps Hephaestus laid for his cheating wife. The memory of Percy and me springing one of them wasn't one I liked to replay. (Although my mind wondered, off-task, if I wouldn't mind taking that tunnel ride together _now._ Well, maybe minus the smash-up at the end.)

Eurytion nodded at the disc in my hand. 'He gave me that chain in gratitude. Said if I ever needed to find him, the disc would lead me to his forges. But only once.'

'And you're giving it to me?' I ran my finger over the silver. It had a little depression in the centre.

'I don't need to see the forges, miss. Got enough to do here.' Eurytion spread his arms to indicate the sprawling ranch. 'Just press the button and you'll be on your way.'

I pressed down with my finger. Immediately, the disc whirred and sprouted eight legs, four on either side of its round belly. My heart jolted. It looked terrifyingly like a …

'Spider!' I flung the awful creature away from me. It skittered into the cattle grid, dropping into the darkness of the Labyrinth.

It was the damned Thrill Ride of Love all over again. How could I forget Hephaestus's hideous metal spiders swarming the boat, making me lose my mind?

'She's, um, a little scared of spiders.' Grover explained the old feud between my mother and Arachne.

'Oh, sorry, miss!'

Percy squeezed my shoulder. 'Hurry, that thing's not going to wait for us.'

The pressure of his hand grounded me. While Tyson pulled up the cattle grid, opening the maze entrance, I tried to re-visualise the metallic spider—no, the metallic _insect._ If I squinted, I could just about convince myself it was an ant instead. Not that those were great either—Myrmekes could be particularly terrifying—but at least I wasn't deathly afraid of them.

We descended back into the Labyrinth and raced after the metal … _insect._ For a tiny thing, it sure could move fast. It took us through stone tunnels, across a set of monkey bars (it was harder to pretend it wasn't a spider when it swung its way across on thin, metallic filaments), past ditches and more skeletons, over a giant mousetrap the size of a car … and then it skittered over a pile of scattered 2B pencils, straight into a large room.

It was like bursting onto a grand stage. Spotlights beamed down from the ceiling and the corners of the room. It took a while to adjust to their glare, and then I wished I hadn't. The room was littered with skeletons.

At the far end of the room was a raised dais with a golden statue. I had a brief glimpse of our mechanical guide darting under its paws and out into a tunnel behind it.

The statue sprung to life. More spotlights clicked on, illuminating her stern, golden face. She had hair that reminded me of my old monster teacher Kitsune's, pulled back into an overcompensating bun that tugged on the corners of her face. She'd gone heavy on the make-up: thick gold eyeshadow and cheeks powdered with golden glitter that reflected the light in different directions Her smart blazer jacket was bright yellow, with a blue ribbon stuck proudly to its lapel. It was the kind they gave out to winners of spelling bees (I'd never gotten one). I almost expected her to be wearing a tight pencil skirt, like Kitsune had favoured, but her lower half ended in a lion's body.

The Sphinx bared her fangs, which looked like pointed golden dentures inside her painted lips, and let out a ferocious roar. Bars slammed down behind her, and across the exit we'd just come through. We were trapped.

I looked at the Sphinx warily. In my dream, Daedalus had had an automated one guarding his workshop. Were we that close?

The Sphinx's threatening expression morphed so quickly into a smile that stretched from ear to ear, I wondered if I'd only imagined her roar. But no, her golden denture fangs were as sharp as ever.

Like a game show host, she cried, 'Welcome, lucky contestants! Get ready to play …' She paused for dramatic effect, 'ANSWER THAT RIDDLE!'

The spotlights danced in criss-cross patterns above our heads. The walls laughed, a mechanical chortle that sounded more like a rattle.

The Sphinx nodded enthusiastically at us. She was blinking really fast, like dust was stuck in her eye. 'Fabulous prizes! Pass the test and you get to advance. Fail, and I get to eat you. Who will be our contestant?'

I squared my shoulders. I knew this myth. The Sphinx was only dangerous if you couldn't answer her riddle.

'I've got this,' I said. 'I know what she's going to ask.'

Even if I hadn't dreamt about Daedalus's fake Sphinx, I'd studied the original monster's riddle before. I felt pretty confident about my chances.

The Sphinx's smile widened when I stepped up to the contestant's podium. Someone was already in it—a dead someone. The skeleton was still dressed in their school uniform, a white-and-magenta combination that reminded me of my old school, St Catherine's. The bones gave no clue as to how their owner had died. Not that it mattered. _I_ was going to pass the Sphinx's test.

I gave the skeleton a little nudge. It toppled out of the booth and joined the others on the floor. I winced. 'Sorry.'

It didn't answer.

The Sphinx welcomed me by name, even though none of us had introduced ourselves. 'Are you ready for your test?'

I lifted my chin. 'Yes. Ask your riddle.'

'Twenty riddles, actually!' If she had hands, she would have been rubbing them together in delighted anticipation.

My confidence faltered. 'What? But back in the old days—'

The Sphinx kept her bright smile plastered in place, but there was a hint of frostiness in her eyes as she said, 'Oh, we've raised our standards,' like I was to blame for the abysmal state of education in the country today. 'To pass, you must show proficiency in all twenty.' Her false, game-show expression returned. 'Isn't that great?'

Percy nodded at me, like, _you can do this._

I squared my shoulders again. I was the daughter of Athena. I could handle this. Riddles were just logical puzzles, after all. It couldn't be as hard as figuring out the maze. 'Okay. I'm ready.'

The drumroll built up in a long crescendo, like a rumble of thunder over the ceiling. Alongside the nervousness in my chest, there was a sense of fluttery anticipation. It was the same thrill of excitement as before capture the flag, when we waited for Chiron's horn to sound so I could put my strategy into action.

The canned recordings died away. The Sphinx's smile turned predatory.

My pre-competition nerves settled into a state of confident eagerness. I was pumped. I was ready. Bring it on.

'What is the capital of Bulgaria?'

I blinked. That … wasn't a riddle.

The answer was stowed away somewhere in my memory—I could visualise the map of Europe we had in school, with little red flags marking out each capital—but surely this couldn't be it.

'Sofia, but—'

'Correct!' Pre-recorded applause boomed from invisible speakers. A booklet materialised on my podium.

'Please be sure to mark your answer clearly on your test sheet with a 2B pencil,' said the Sphinx. The pencil appeared next to the booklet, its tip sharpened to a fine point.

'What?' I stared at the booklet. It was filled with rows and rows of little bubbles marked _A, B, C,_ and _D._ There was no indication as to which option corresponded with my answer.

'Make sure you bubble each answer clearly and stay inside the circle.' The Sphinx sounded like a state test proctor now. 'If you have to erase, erase completely, or the machine will not be able to read your answers.'

'What machine?' I was feeling more and more wrong-footed, like I'd stepped into the Ares cabin and found Clarisse and her siblings painting each other's nails.

The Sphinx indicated a three-foot square box that looked like a cross between a jackpot machine and a mailbox. It had a long lever on the side and a slit in the centre. A series of gears clicked away at the back. The mark of Hephaestus, a large _Êta_ , was painted boldly on the front.

'Now, next question—'

'Wait a second!' I stopped her before she could throw me another inane question. 'What about, "What walks on four legs in the morning?"'

The Sphinx's glare was definitely accusatory now. 'I beg your pardon?'

It was a bit weird to explain her own riddle to her, but I did. 'That's the riddle you used to ask.'

The Sphinx made a little _hmph_ of frustration. 'Exactly why we changed the test! You already knew the answer. Now, second question—what is the square root of sixteen?'

'Four,' I said automatically. But this wasn't a riddle either.

The next question was on a completely unrelated topic—history. My brow furrowed. 'Hold up! These aren't riddles!'

'What do you mean? Of course they are.' The Sphinx's had the same condescending sniff as every teacher who'd labelled me as stupid because I'd failed their meaningless standardised tests. As if those actually proved anything. 'This test material is specially designed—'

My confusion gave way to annoyance. Specially designed? She was just rattling off questions like a trivia machine. Now, don't get me wrong—I like trivia, but this was just … insulting.

'It's just a bunch of dumb, random facts. Riddles are supposed to make you think.'

The Sphinx was no longer smiling. 'Think? How am I supposed to test whether you can think?' She snorted at the mere absurdity of it. 'That's ridiculous! Now, how much force is required—'

'Stop!' My blood roared in my ears, but it was no longer from fear or excitement. I felt cheated. Defeating the Sphinx was supposed to be a milestone, proof of your logic and intelligence. But how could I be proud of passing a stupid test like this?

'I'm a child of Athena, and this is an insult to my intelligence,' I declared. 'I won't answer these questions.'

'Why then, my dear, if you won't pass, you fail.' The Sphinx's eyes darkened. 'And since we can't allow any children to be held back, you'll be _EATEN!_ '

On that last word, she sprang at me. Sharp claws extended from the ends of her paws. Her mouth pulled back to showcase her fangs.

In my outrage at her ridiculous test, I'd completely forgotten that the Sphinx wasn't a pompous schoolteacher, but an actual monster. Her attack caught me off guard. Claws like steel flew straight at my face.

Then a giant body hurtled in front of me and intercepted the Sphinx.

Tyson. He'd saved my life again. He stood between me and the Sphinx with his arms outstretched. His t-shirt was shredded where the Sphinx's claws had ripped it.

I found my dagger. If it was a fight the Sphinx wanted, it was a fight she'd get. I couldn't wait to stab her in her smug golden face.

Percy's bronze sword came up, putting another barrier between me and the Sphinx. 'Turn invisible!' he said.

'I can fight!'

'No!' He jerked his head towards Tyson, who was trying to block the Sphinx from getting to me. 'The Sphinx is after _you!_ Let us get it!'

The Sphinx finally got tired of playing keep-away with Tyson and charged him head on. She looked nothing like a grade school teacher now. Blood dotted Tyson's shirt.

My chest deflated. Thanks to my wounded pride, I'd lost my head completely. And now my friends were paying for it.

'Annabeth!' Percy blocked the Sphinx with Riptide.

I swallowed my pride and disappeared. A moment later, the Sphinx bounded past my friends and landed in the spot she'd last seen me. I'd already skirted round to the grading machine, out of reach.

'No fair! Cheater!' She turned to Percy, her teeth bared in outrage. She looked ready to rip into him for helping me get away.

Tyson hurled the grading machine at the Sphinx's head. It smashed into pieces at her feet. She howled in fury, but the destruction of the machine lifted the trap. The bars over the exits retracted into the ceiling.

'Come on!' I shouted. My voice was lost in the melee, but my friends got the point. They made for the exit, the Sphinx hot on their heels.

It was like my very first quest, when the three demon-grandma Furies had cornered us on a Greyhound, searching for Percy. I'd sent him off under my invisibility cap so he could get away. The thing that always stuck out to me in that memory was how Percy had come _back._

I turned at the bars, my hand on its way to whip my cap off and draw the Sphinx's attention.

Then Grover put his reed pipes to his lips and puffed out a frantic tune. Tree roots sprouted from the ground—no, it was the Sphinx's pencils, growing into branches and vines around her paws. They jerked her back, giving us time to reach the exit and duck under the bars.

As soon as we all made it into the tunnel, the bars slammed down, trapping the Sphinx in the room. Her wail over her destroyed grading machine and the loss of her test scores gave me a vindictive twinge of pleasure.

'Annabeth!' Percy stopped just beyond the bars. He waved his arms around, searching frantically.

I caught his arm. 'Here!'

Our hands met and closed around each other. 'Keep moving,' I said.

Hand in hand, we raced down the tunnel after Tyson and Grover.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

 **A/N:** The missing moment at the start of the chapter is not indicated in canon, but since the rest of that night between Percy and Grover's conversation and 'the next morning we walked down to the cattle grid' is convenient off-screen … I figure this _could_ have happened. And there aren't that many places to squeeze in some additional percabeth development!

Kitsune and St Catherine's, come of course from _Necklace of Harmonia_. And I'd just like to say I very much share Annabeth's attitude towards standardised testing and its failure to capture alternate intelligences!

And I am still playing catch-up on comments. Third-year is kicking my butt. I'M SORRY! But thank you, Hello, ArtimuosJackson, Numberfivewithabullet, JustADerangedFanGirl, MariaClaire, and randomstories7777 for continuing to send me encouragement nonetheless! And yes, we are slowly but surely edging along to the scene everyone's been waiting for ... :)


	16. I Open A Forbidden Door

**A/N** : This chapter is rated PG-13/T for a difficult choice, and also because … yes, this is the one you've all been waiting for. I admit I've been soooo excited to get to this one at last. It's gone through a ton of revisions and rewrites to get to this final version. I'm as happy with it as I will ever be now, but letting it loose into the world still feels kind of nerve-wracking.

Chapter 16: I Open A Forbidden Door

The good news was, we'd escaped the Sphinx. The bad news: we'd lost our mechanical guide. Grover tried to play a tracking song, but it reverberated in the tunnel, making it impossible for his melody to locate the trail. It was only thanks to Tyson and his superhuman hearing that we finally picked up a rhythmic clanging noise.

We followed it to a metal door. The mechanical insect was dangling from a thread (I shuddered), making a loud _plink_ every time it swung into the door.

'I guess this is it,' I said.

It looked like the entrance to an underground bunker, or a high-security vault: thick, solid, and wheel-operated. Hephaestus's _Êta_ was etched into the metal.

'Ready to meet Hephaestus?' Grover asked.

'No,' Percy said.

Tyson grabbed the bunker wheel. 'Yes!'

The door slid open with a groan of shifting metal (it could have done with some serious oiling). We found ourselves in the largest room yet. It was sectioned into a dozen workspaces, each with its own table and drafting board. Some sections had projects as big as Mack trucks sitting on hydraulic lifts next to the table; others were smaller and cluttered with tools and little metal pieces—screws and springs and the like. On a corkboard over one table hung a jewel-embedded gold necklace. The sight of it sent shivers up my spine. I hoped Hephaestus had kept his promise and removed the curse on it.

A forge fire burnt merrily in the corner, stoked by a weird contraption. It looked like a robot, but had only one long, thin poker arm that reached in and out of the fire. Several bronze weapons were cooling in the slack tub by the fire, which was supplied by a thin, U-shaped pipe that sucked water in from the dirt ceiling.

I blinked. It was _my_ pipe—the one I'd made as an assignment from Hephaestus last spring. We must be under the junkyard of the gods.

A rhythmic banging came from one of the workstations. This one had an ancient blue car jacked up on a hydraulic stand. It took me a moment to realise that the metal brace sticking out from under the car at a weird angle wasn't part of the machinery. It was connected to a massive leg.

Its owner emerged from under the vehicle, lying on a trolley. 'Well, well, what have we here?'

Last spring, I'd negotiated with an automated proxy for Hephaestus, a burly work-robot called Hephaeston. The god himself was a warped, twisted version of his self-insert automaton. Or maybe it was the robot who was the cleaned-up, fully-functional version of the real thing. Hephaestus looked like he'd been moulded by someone who didn't know what humans were supposed to look like. Most gods usually chose to take whatever appearance they wanted, but either Hephaestus was the exception to the rule, or he just didn't give a crap what he looked like.

The little metal insect scurried into Hephaestus's hands. He sat up. With lumpy fingers that couldn't possibly move as quickly and deftly as they did, he reassembled the disc.

I cringed. The new version looked so much more spider-like that it was impossible to pretend otherwise.

Hephaestus scrutinised us. His eyes were uneven, one wider than the other. 'I didn't make you, did I?'

'Er …' Did he recognise me? Granted, we'd only spoken through a video link on Hephaeston's smock. 'No, sir.'

Hephaestus examined us with the expert gaze of a master craftsman. 'Good,' he said at last. 'Shoddy workmanship.'

Percy and I exchanged nervous looks.

Hephaestus muttered under his breath a lot as he sized us up, still acting like we were some of his machines. He didn't seem convinced that we were real humans, even after Percy assured him that we'd met before. He appreciated Tyson more, which had to be a first for the big guy. It usually took a while before people got comfortable with a Cyclops. No wonder he'd been keen to meet Hephaestus.

'There'd better be a good reason you're disturbing me,' Hephaestus said. He motioned to the car on the hydraulic stand. 'The suspension on this Corolla is no small matter, you know.'

'Sir, we're looking for Daedalus,' I said quickly 'We thought—'

He cut me off with a bellow that shook the ceiling of the workshop. ' _Daedalus?_ You want that old scoundrel? You dare to seek him out?'

Flames erupted from his bushy beard. Belatedly, I remembered that Hephaestus was also the god of fire. I swallowed. 'Yes, sir, please.'

Hephaestus harrumphed under his breath. He started fiddling with the scattered metal fasteners on his worktable. Like his son Beckendorf, he didn't seem comfortable unless his hands were busy.

'You're wasting your time,' he told us as he shaped a metal falcon from the bits and bobs on his table. It actually took off from his hands and did a lap around the room, to Tyson's delight.

Tyson's enthusiasm seemed to appease Hephaestus. He regarded Tyson more genially. 'I sense you have something to tell me, Cyclops.'

Tyson gazed at Hephaestus in wonder. His voice wobbled as he told the god about our encounter with Briares. I guess the disappointment of losing his hero still bugged him.

'There was a time when I admired the Hundred-handed Ones,' Hephaestus said. 'Back in the days of the first war. But people, monsters, even gods change, young Cyclops.' He fixed his eyes on Tyson, but I got the sense he was addressing me, too. 'You can't trust 'em. Look at my loving mother, Hera. You met her, didn't you? She'll smile to your face and talk about how important family is, eh?' His expression darkened. 'Didn't stop her from pitching me off Mount Olympus when she saw my ugly face.'

Percy frowned. 'But I thought Zeus did that to you.'

'Mother likes telling that version of the story.' Hephaestus hawked an impressive glob of spit into a nearby pot. 'Makes her seem more likeable, doesn't it? Blaming it all on my dad. The truth is, my mother likes families, but she likes a certain kind of family. _Perfect_ families. She took one look at me and … well, I don't fit the image, do I?'

In my mind's eye, a seven-year-old girl turned back for a last look at her home before she ran away. Her family was inside the house: two parents, two kids—a perfect family, with no weird stuff to trouble them.

Even though I got along much better with my family now, the sting of feeling like a blemish on their lives didn't fade that easily.

When Hephaestus said, 'You can't trust others; all you can trust is the work of your own hands,' I couldn't help feeling a strange kinship with this unusual god.

Percy made a soft, disgruntled noise in the back of his throat. For some reason, I thought of his readiness to accompany me on this quest, despite his misgivings. I touched the grey streak that ran through my ponytail, the twin to the one in his hair.

Hephaestus grunted, reading Percy's expression. 'Oh, this one doesn't like me. No worries, I'm used to that.' He scratched under his arm. 'What would you ask of me, little demigod?'

'We told you.' Percy explained our quest and the urgency of our mission to find Daedalus.

'I told you, boy, looking for Daedalus is a waste of time. He won't help you.'

'Why not?' Percy demanded.

Hephaestus considered this for a while. 'Some of us get thrown off mountainsides,' he said. 'Some of us … the way we learn not to trust people is even more painful.'

My shoulders ached like the strain of the sky's weight had fallen on them again. I swallowed hard.

Percy caught my eye. The weight lifted.

'Ask me for gold,' said Hephaestus. 'Or a flaming sword. Or a magical steed. These I can grant you easily. But a way to Daedalus? That's an expensive favour.'

I noticed he didn't say it was impossible. 'So you know where he is.'

'It isn't wise to go looking, girl,' he warned.

'My mother says looking is the nature of wisdom.'

Hephaestus's dark eyes were like X-rays. 'Who's your mother, then?'

I told him.

'Figures. Fine goddess, Athena. A shame she pledged never to marry.' But the mention of my mother seemed to do the trick. 'All right, half-blood,' he said. 'I can tell you what you want to know. But there is a price. I need a favour done.'

I didn't hesitate. 'Name it.'

I figured it might be something like the last task I'd completed for him—creating a tool, or maybe fixing a machine. But Hephaestus brought up a LCD screen. I thought it was playing the Nature Channel at first, like on Geryon's ranch. The screen panned out on a snow-capped mountain with smoke curling from its peak. From the coniferous trees lining the slopes, I guessed it was somewhere in the Pacific Northwest.

'One of my forges,' Hephaestus explained. 'I have many, but that used to be my favourite.'

Grover peered at the screen. 'That's Mount St Helens.'

'Wait—you said it _used_ to be your favourite.' I frowned at the mountain. 'What happened?'

'Well, that's where the monster Typhon is trapped,' Hephaestus said. 'You know, used to be under Mount Etna, but when we moved to America, his force got pinned under Mount St Helens instead.' He rubbed his beard thoughtfully. 'Great source of fire, but a bit dangerous. There's always a chance he will escape. Lots of eruptions these days, smouldering all the time. He's restless with the Titan rebellion.'

I wasn't sure I liked where Hephaestus was going with this. I didn't think Typhon had come in on the gods' side in the last war.

Percy voiced what I was thinking: 'What do you want us to do? Fight him?'

Fortunately, that wasn't the favour. I quite agreed with Hephaestus that _that_ would have been a suicide mission. But the one he set for us wasn't much better. He explained that he'd been sensing intruders on the mountain, enemies who hid when he went to check them out himself, but whose evil, ancient presence lingered. None of his automaton scouts had come back to report.

'You want us to find out who it is,' Percy summarised.

'Aye. Go there.' Hephaestus furrowed his brow. 'They may not sense you coming. You are not gods. Go and find out what you can. Report back to me … and I will tell you what you need to know about Daedalus.'

An enemy that the god himself described as ancient and evil. One that had disabled all his automatons. This would be an incredibly dangerous spy mission. But we didn't have much of a choice. Not if we wanted answers about Daedalus.

I squared my shoulders. 'All right. How do we get there?'

Hephaestus threw down the spider automaton—which looked more than ever like the wretched real thing after his repairs. I sighed and resigned myself to another harrowing chase through the tunnels.

Either Hephaestus's tune-up had made the spider more considerate of our limitations, or it wasn't in a hurry to become the next victim of the automaton disappearances. It skittered along at a more manageable pace this time. We passed a corridor full of stacked carts, wove through a curved, undulating passage, and crawled out from a long, cement-block tunnel into a dirt cave. Roots crept down the walls like creeper vines, some of them dangling in our faces. There was a little offshoot tunnel dug deep into the earth. I would have shot past it had Grover not stumbled to a stop in front of it.

The spider kept on going. I looked over my shoulder. Percy had stopped, too.

'Come on,' I urged them. 'We have to keep moving.'

Grover didn't seem to hear me. His nose was turned to the earthy passage as if the smell of cooking enchiladas was wafting through it. 'This is the way—this is it!'

Percy shone his flashlight down the tunnel. More tree roots curled inside it, thicker than all the others in the cave. 'What way? You mean … to Pan?'

'Don't you smell it?'

Tyson wrinkled his nose. 'Earth. And plants.'

'Yes!' Grover hadn't sounded this excited since last winter, when he'd heard the lost god speak. 'This is the way, I'm sure of it!'

'We'll come back on our way back to Hephaestus,' I assured him.

Grover put his hand on one of the tree roots lining the hole. 'The tunnel will be gone by then. I have to follow it. A door like this won't stay open!'

'But we can't! The forges!'

'I have to, Annabeth. Don't you understand?'

I did, sort of. This was really important to Grover. But … it was also _my_ quest. And the spider wasn't waiting. I could hear its legs tapping on stone up ahead. If we lost it, Hephaestus would never help us find Daedalus.

 _You can't trust others,_ Hephaestus's voice repeated in my head.

Percy looked between Grover and me, and came to a decision. 'We'll split up.'

My eyes widened. He couldn't be serious. 'No, that's way too dangerous. How will we ever find each other again? And Grover can't go alone.'

Tyson took a deep breath and gripped Grover's shoulder. 'I will go with him.'

'Tyson, are you sure?' Percy asked.

'Goat boy needs help,' Tyson said resolutely. 'We will find the god person. I am not like Hephaestus. I trust friends.'

I stared guiltily at my shoes. It wasn't _them_ I didn't trust. It was the maze. This was how the tributes in the early days had gotten picked off one by one. The Labyrinth had been designed to create divisions in groups, trick people into turning on each other or leaving their friends behind … leaving them alone to face the dangers within.

There was a hollow, sinking feeling in my chest as I watched Tyson and Grover disappear down the hole of earth and roots. 'This is bad. Splitting up is a really, really bad idea.'

'We'll see them again,' Percy reassured me. 'Now come on. The spider is getting away.'

Carrying on through the tunnels wasn't the same without Grover and Tyson. I'd gotten used to the clop of Grover's hooves (he'd packed away his fake feet so that he could move faster) and Tyson's loud footsteps. I also didn't like that we were about to enter a volcano without Tyson's fireproof presence.

Even Percy's attempt to distract me by asking how my mom had children didn't divert my attention for long. (Seriously, did he _really_ want to know how I'd been born? It had been embarrassing enough talking about it with my mom.) As the walls began to glow red-hot, I thought uneasily of the Oracle and the way she'd shown me Tyson standing among walls of fire. He was supposed to be here. What would happen if he wasn't?

We arrived at Hephaestus's forge at last: an enormous cavern easily ten times the size of the camp forge. It opened right up into a lava pit that gurgled and spat scorching magma. I could tell from the heat that this was the real deal, way stronger than the diluted stuff the cleaning harpies used for our dishes, or even the lava that chased us up the climbing wall. Solid metal bridges criss-crossed over the pit, leading to a central platform with a whole bunch of machines I couldn't even begin to name.

There was a bustle of activity down below. Hephaestus was right—someone was definitely using the forge. We knelt on the ridge and watched them going back and forth on the platform, but we were too far away to discern their features. The problem was, the whole cavern was one big, open space. We were hidden behind an outcrop of rock at the top, but the winding path down the side of the cavern was clearly visible to anyone who looked up.

'We'll never be able to sneak up on them,' Percy said, squinting down from our ridge.

The spider had mercifully shrank back into a disc. I pocketed it and pulled out my invisibility hat. 'I can.' It would only take a minute. 'Wait here.'

Invisible, I clambered down the ridge. I could see Percy peering down after me, though he probably couldn't tell where I was. Offshoots from the main path led deeper into the cavern, but I ignored them and headed straight for the lava lake at the bottom.

It was scorching down by the molten lava. I wished I'd brought along my Medea's SPF 50,000+ sunscreen. A roaring river of magma fed into the lake, its rushing noise so loud, it was like the clattering of an enormous factory. Waves of heat rolled off every surface, making it feel like a hundred-degree sauna. The metal bridges were so hot, the steel was practically burning through the soles of my sneakers. I had to stick my fingers in my jeans pockets to keep from accidentally brushing them against the red-hot railings.

When I reached the platform, I understood how the intruders could withstand the heat. They had rubber hides of some insulating material that resembled tight hazmat suits. Their faces were dog-like, with long, protruding snouts and pointed ears. They had to be demons of some kind, but I couldn't place them. They reminded me of cynocephali—dog-headed men—but their lower halves were only loosely human. And just like Hephaestus had said, there was something older, more ancient, about them.

One of the demons approached the platform, holding two smaller ones by their clawed hands. When they reached the intersection with another bridge, the bigger demon patted the smaller ones on the head. It motioned up the long, upward-sloping bridge that led into a side door in the cavern wall. At the top, another of the demon creatures beckoned.

'Go on, younglings,' said the parent demon. 'Off you go.'

The two younglings shuffled up the bridge on clunky hind legs that had webbed portions sticking out the backs of their feet. They disappeared into the interior of the cavern.

Dad demon continued onto the platform. I flattened myself against a bronze cauldron as he passed, muttering, 'That's the younglings off to school, then.'

He stuck the flipper portion of his foot into a tiny black box at the edge of the platform. It made a little click, like he'd just clocked in for a factory shift.

Three of his colleagues hailed him from further down the platform, where they stood over a conveyor belt. Chunks of jagged metal pieces rolled down it. The worker demons picked them up with tongs and laid them on an iron worktable.

'Finally fusing the metals today?' The new arrival had to yell over the roar of the lava river.

'Aye, at last! Soon our work will be complete, and the blades will be ready for our army's first strike.'

A shiver went up my spine in spite of the pervasive heat. It was just as Hephaestus had suggested. These demons were part of Kronos's army. They were making weapons to supply Luke's forces. _The first strike_ … How long before they marched on camp?

The demons hammered at the metal pieces, drowning out their conversation. I crept in closer.

'… the heat of Typhon shall mould the finest sword of this age!'

One demon inspected his work with grim satisfaction. The metal had been hammered into a thin, flat blade, coppery bright on one side and dark as steel on the other.

'Once the metal is fused, it will be stronger than all the counterfeits of those upstart Cyclopes!'

'I would see this blade pierce the heart of Poseidon himself,' growled another demon. 'Curse him for banishing us.'

An old enemy of Poseidon … equal to the Cyclopes. There was an old myth, from a time before many of the gods …

My thoughts were interrupted by a sight that made my heart stop. Percy was sprinting down one of the bridges to the platform like he had a horde of demons on his tail.

It was a miracle the demons on the platform hadn't noticed him. Engrossed in their work, they didn't even look up once. But the way he was yelling my name, it was only a matter of time before the sound carried over the banging of the forge and the rushing of the lava.

I rushed out and tackled him. 'Shhh! You want to get killed?'

His hand found the back of my neck and tangled in my hair. Then he yanked off my invisibility cap and stepped away.

'Percy, what is your problem?'

'We're going to have company,' he whispered urgently. 'I ran into a monster health class.'

'What?'

'They were—okay, never mind what they were teaching, just—telkhines! That's what's taking over Hephaestus's forges. I heard them talking about making weapons for Kronos, and getting revenge on Poseidon, and—'

The name clicked. 'So that's what they are! Telkhines. I should have known. And they're making … well, look.'

I pointed to the workstation at the centre of the platform. The four telkhines were now hammering in turns at the double-edged blade.

'The blade is almost complete,' one of them gloated. 'It needs another cooling in blood to fuse the metals.'

Another slam of the hammer. 'Aye, it will be even sharper than before.'

'What _is_ that?' Percy said.

'They keep talking about fusing metals.' There was something uncanny about the way the blade shone in the lava light, like a dark, unspeakable magic was woven into the metal. It reminded me of Luke's sword, the wicked half-bronze, half-steel blade that could cut monsters and mortals alike.

Was this how Backbiter had been crafted?

'They were talking about the greatest Titan weapon,' Percy said. 'And they … they said they made my father's trident.'

I remembered the myth now. The telkhines had once been allies of the gods. But they'd betrayed them, used dark magic or something … I couldn't recall what exactly.

'Zeus banished them to Tartarus.'

Percy's eyes widened. 'With Kronos.'

There was something else before that, a way that Poseidon had defeated them …

But there was no point hanging around trying to figure out the details of an old story. We had to get back and report to Hephaestus.

There was a commotion at the top of one of the metal bridges. A door burst open. Dozens of little telkhines trooped out onto the ridge.

Behind us, the four telkhines on the platform stopped hammering. Our hiding place behind the bronze cauldron was out of their direct line of sight, but once the younglings swarmed us, we'd be surrounded.

'Put your cap back on—get out!' Percy said.

'What? No!' He was crazy if he thought I was going to leave him behind.

'I've got a plan,' he insisted. 'I'll distract them.'

'But—'

'You can use the metal spider—maybe it'll lead you back to Hephaestus. You have to tell him what's going on.'

'But you'll be killed!' I glanced at the telkhines pouring out onto the ridge above. There had to be at least twenty of them, all armed with mismatched bronze weapons. And who knew how many more were in the cavern tunnels?

Percy drew his sword. 'I'll be fine.' He had a steely glint in his eye. 'Besides, we've got no choice.'

I hoped he did have a plan. If I could, I would have made Percy take the invisibility hat and leave, but I could see _that_ going the same way as our first quest. He'd just come right back.

Our eyes locked. Percy's face was streaked with soot and ash. It was set with the same, fierce determination I'd seen a million times.

Time stopped. My heart thudded against my chest so hard, I was sure it must give our location away. My head was a kaleidoscope of sights and sounds: tunnels, and caverns, and crossroads, and cliffs.

And through it all, _Percy._ Fighting the Furies on the bus in New Jersey. Flooding out the spiders that swarmed me in Denver. Swimming after me in Siren Bay. Struggling under Atlas's burden on Mount Tam. Winding his fingers through mine in the dark. Screaming my name outside the Sphinx's room.

Janus danced across my vision, identical leering grins on his faces. _Choose, Annabeth._

 _Percy,_ I thought. _I choose Percy._

And I grabbed him by the shirt collar and kissed him right on the mouth.

I never imagined that my first kiss would come in the middle of an insanely dangerous mission, with evil sea demons surrounding us on every side. I mean, could there possibly be a worse moment? I had no idea what I was thinking, grabbing him like that. If I'd had a chance to plan it—and I'm not saying I _did_ plan to kiss Percy … okay, maybe I'd thought about it once or twice—I'd have gone for something more romantic. Like on an actual date.

But I guess this kind of summed up our entire relationship. Percy threw all my plans out of whack. And here I was, pouring every thought in my head into a fierce, heart-pounding kiss: _you'd better have a plan; don't you dare die!_

I sensed his shock the moment our lips touched. One brief moment of hesitation, and then he was pressing back against my mouth just as fiercely.

It didn't last more than a few seconds, but when we broke apart, my heart was practically hammering through my rib cage. My finger trailed a smudge of soot across his jaw.

'Be careful, Seaweed Brain,' I whispered.

And then I had to let him go.

I darted back up the bridge, invisible, praying he _was_ going to pull something out of his sleeve, the way he always did. I watched him weave among the machinery on the platform, ducking in and out of view of the approaching telkhines.

My bridge passed over the roaring lava river, connecting to a path that led into the heart of the cavern. A cart lay overturned in the corridor, its contents spilling out over the floor. I pushed the button on Hephaestus's metal disc and it popped back into spider form. For once, I barely even noticed its creepy arachnid legs. My mind was still on Percy, dodging telkhines on the platform.

What _was_ it that Poseidon had done to vanquish them in the first war? The answer was just out of my mind's grasp.

The metal spider scooted down the corridor. It ended in two doors, one made of stone, with a heavy handle. The other was like the door to Hephaestus's workshop: thick metal with a wheel in the centre. Above the wheel, a bluish light glowed through a hatch portal.

'Which way?' I asked the spider.

It bounced between the two doors, as though waiting for me to choose.

I looked more closely at the metal door. Large block letters were etched into it just under the portal: _DANGER: ICE CAVES!_

And under that, in smaller print that made my eyes swim trying to decipher the words, _Manual activation not recommended. Ensure flood evacuation protocol before opening. Hephaestus is not responsible for drowning or other related deaths._

My vision opened up. I saw walls of fire sweeping up around me, solidifying into black ice, melting into a flood of churning rapids. Telkhines floundered and gasped as they sank beneath the water's surface. That was how they'd been overcome in the first Titan war: their salty island drowned by Poseidon in a devastating freshwater flood. As sea demons, they couldn't cope with the desalination.

A snatch of the Nature Channel programme Grover and I had been listening to on Geryon's ranch nudged its way to my mind's surface.

Mount St Helens had a glacial crater.

The puzzle piece locked into place. I knew what I had to do.

The tiny warning on the door blinked at me. _Hephaestus is not responsible for drowning …_

If I released the ice, I'd be caught in the flood as well. And I wasn't Percy. I couldn't breathe underwater. He would survive a watery deluge, but me …

I could run, take the other door and follow the spider back to Hephaestus. I could hope Percy would make it out himself. That was the logical choice. Our task was to get in, scout the forge, and report back.

' _Choose, Annabeth!_ '

I thought it was just a vision at first, but no—there he was, standing between the two doors, both faces grinning widely. I remembered what he'd said on our first meeting: _One probably leads the way you wish to go; The other leads to certain death._

It wasn't too hard to figure out which door was which. I just hadn't expected _this_ to be the choice I was handed.

Janus tossed his silver key from hand to hand. 'I knew a girl like you once, you know,' he said conversationally. 'She had a choice to make as well.'

I hesitated. Then I heard a scream from the lava pit behind me.

 _Percy._

I thought of the way he'd agreed to come on this quest. No hesitation, so ready to stick by my side. The reassuring squeeze of his hand around my fingers. My head against his shoulder, watching the sunrise on Geryon's ranch.

Tears obscured my vision, turning Janus into a blur.

Percy had always been there for me.

Not this time. This time, I was going to save him.

 _The child of Athena's final stand._

The ghost of our first and last kiss trembled on my lips. I was glad I'd done it.

'Percy,' I told Janus. 'I choose Percy!'

And I wrenched open the door to the ice caves.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

 **A/N** : Yes, I know I've glossed over the oh-so-important bellybutton conversation (but I mean, seriously, exactly what plot purpose did it actually serve in the original book? I still can't quite figure it out). The real focus was, of course, Mount St Helens … this scene has been in the making for a long time, ever since I found out that it has an actual crater glacier. One thing I really wanted to resolve with the whole Mount St Helens sequence was how readily Annabeth left Percy on his own to deal with the telkhines. I felt like there had to be a really good reason for her to make that decision, and this was basically me trying to create that reason to justify her actions. I hope you'll let me know how I did with it. Seriously, if you were to only ever pick one chapter to leave a review on, I think I'd want this to be the one.

The extended myth about the telkhines is quite vague, with accounts that they either died by flood, thunderbolt, trident, or Apollo-as-a-wolf. I've gone with a merging of Poseidon and the flood, for plot purposes naturally.

Huge thanks to **Hello, CQ816, MariaClaire, JustADerangedFanGirl, Thunderwolf7226, ArtimuosJackson, randomstories7777,** and **HarryPusheen** for your comments and encouragement even when I was so abysmally bad at replying. I think I'm on top of replies this past week (at last!) Anyway, I appreciate all the support you guys keep giving me each week!


	17. A Peacock Picks My Pockets

**A/N** : I was almost afraid this chapter was going to be late, as I'm at my boyfriend's this weekend but forgot to bring my laptop. However it turns out ffnet does have the desktop view on mobile, so I could get in here anyway! And here is the weekly chapter after all.

This chapter is rated PG-13/T because someone has a potty mouth (not unlike Clarisse).

Chapter 17: A Peacock Picks My Pockets

The blast knocked me off my feet. A surge of cold air hit like a sucker punch to the face. It whistled through the corridor, a wave that wasn't exactly fluid, but sped along all the same towards the cavern exit. Beyond the open metal door, the ice cave was a glittering blue chamber: the crater glacier of the volcano. Who would have thought that such a thing could exist in such close proximity to the boiling lava down below?

With the dividing door open, the chamber began to shake. Cracks ran up and down the wall. The air filled with mist as ice caught in the volcanic atmosphere and sublimed, going from solid straight to gas.

Then the flooding kicked in. The entire chamber of ice collapsed in a gush of freezing water and rained over me. The pull of the flood was unimaginable. It was as if a magnet was drawing the glacial water to the cavern, a force so powerful, the water surged to obey. It swept me up and carried me in its chaotic, churning wake. Every molecule of it vibrated, like a crowd of people shoving each other in their rush to escape a fiery building.

The currents tossed me like a rag doll, ducking my head under water, throwing me above the surface briefly, and sucking me down again. My lungs burned. I gasped reflexively, inhaling water. Black spots danced before my eyes, like the glittering obsidian caves of the Underworld. Maybe it _was_ the Underworld flickering in front of me. This might be what it felt like to die.

Then I heard the scream. It was an unearthly, inchoate sound that couldn't possibly be Percy. But I knew it was.

The glacial flood swirled into the great cavern, but instead of pouring into the pit, it rose like a tsunami. Great walls of water erupted around the cavern. In the centre was a column of fire.

That was where the screams were coming from.

Percy.

Oh gods. No.

 _No._ I chose him—I chose—he couldn't—

My head spun, or maybe it was the water. It was all coming together in a crazy, spinning hurricane, with Percy, the boy on fire, at its vortex.

In retrospect, that probably saved my life. Instead of being plunged into the volatile mix of ice water and magma, I was flung straight onto the platform, where I hit the heavy bronze cauldron I'd hidden behind earlier. It fell over and clattered upside down on top of me, shielding me from the maelstrom outside.

I heard Percy screaming. I heard the squeals of terrified telkhines. I heard a massive explosion, one that rattled the walls of my cauldron prison.

I heard a voice crying for Percy, broken and anguished. Only later would I realise it was my own. I choked on water and tears. My hands scrabbled against the cauldron, searching for its bottom edge.

There was another supersonic _BOOM._ In the aftershock, my ears rang so badly, it was like being in a sensory deprivation chamber. My head swam. My lungs ached. I reached feebly for the edge of the cauldron again, but my hand fell slack.

I slumped to the ground and my vision went black.

An incessant banging woke me up. It took a while to remember where I was. It wasn't quite as dark under the bronze cauldron now. Someone was knocking on the outside: a few gongs, a pause, then the banging resumed.

'Percy?' My head was spinning. The banging wasn't helping. I found the bottom edge of the cauldron and pushed hard, forcing it up. Light flooded in, first a sliver, then a full, unearthly brightness.

I might well have emerged into the aftermath of a nuclear blast. The machines on the platform were in smithereens, the largest chunk no bigger than my cauldron. The metal bridges hung in broken pieces, swaying from their attachments to the cavern ridges. Only one ramp still connected the platform to the edge of the lake. The lava bubbled more violently than before, making the platform shake and shudder under me.

I got shakily to my feet. 'Percy?'

There was no answer. The forge was deserted. A rubbery scent hung in the cavern, like the remains of vaporised telkhines floated in the air. Hephaestus's spider was the only thing stirring. Miraculously, it had survived, but it didn't look remotely like a spider any more. Three of its legs were missing; another two were crooked. It kept banging itself against the cauldron, then scuttling around in a demented circle before repeating the whole process over again.

I picked my way past bits of exploded metal, cracked tools, and rubber flippers that looked like they belonged to a now-dead telkhine. Nothing resembled a human corpse, which was a good sign. Then again, he could have been vaporised, or tossed into the lava, or …

'Percy!' I yelled again, panic rising in my chest. The last line of my prophecy thundered in my ears.

My heart leapt when I saw the figure crouching behind the wreckage of an anvil. I ran unsteadily across the bucking platform, giddy with relief.

Then she stepped out. I froze, a glacial flood of disappointment crashing over me.

She was clad in an orange dress that matched the gurgling magma of the volcano, with dark blue trim like waves on the skirt. Its pattern made my throat tighten. I'd thought the flood would save Percy, but everything had gone so horribly wrong.

'Fire and ice,' Hera said, raising a contemplative finger to her lips. 'A lethal combination.'

'Queen Hera,' I said shakily. 'Percy—'

'He is no longer … here.' The way she said _here,_ it sounded like she didn't just mean in the forge.

'But—he can't be …' I shook my head in desperation. 'I _chose._ I told Janus! I—I made my final stand.'

'Surely you know better than to try and control a prophecy, child,' Hera admonished. 'Did you think you would only have one choice to make?' She sniffed. 'Do you know what marriage is, girl? It's a daily choice. But enough of this. The young man is in a better place. As for you, here is another choice you must make: will you stand here dithering, or will you return to your quest?'

 _In a better place._ My legs felt numb. I couldn't remember what quest Hera was talking about. It couldn't be important. Nothing seemed like it would ever be important again.

I felt again the brush of my lips against mine, the kiss that would haunt me forever now.

It was my fault. I shouldn't have done it, shouldn't have loved—

Everyone I loved always left.

Hera tsk-ed impatiently. 'Really, now,' she said. 'You should return to your quest, with no further distractions. Hephaestus will be waiting for you.'

The platform lurched, throwing me towards the exit ramp. I stumbled across it into the cavern tunnel. The broken spider skittered after me.

I made it only two steps into the Labyrinth before collapsing in tears. How could I have let this happen? I should never have let the Labyrinth split us up. I should never have left Percy. I shouldn't even have picked the three of them to accompany me on my quest. Chiron had tried to warn me, but I'd insisted. I'd been so confident in my choices, so sure I knew best. I'd been so sure I would save camp …

Camp.

No matter how much I wanted to lie here and die, I couldn't give in. I was the only one left to continue the quest, find Daedalus, and save camp.

Percy would never forgive me if I gave up now.

The broken automaton scurried in circles around me. The volcanic explosion must have damaged its sense of direction.

I picked it up and examined it. 'How do I fix you?'

It twitched feebly in my palm, then jumped onto my backpack. I shrugged the bag off my shoulders and rummaged inside, hoping I had a screwdriver or something. If only Tyson were here. He would have known what to do.

My fingers closed around something round and hard: the bronze compass Beckendorf had given me. I flipped it open. It told me the passageway pointed southwest, but that wasn't much use. The Labyrinth didn't follow normal cardinal directions.

The automaton rubbed its remaining legs together, making an excited, chittering noise.

'Okay,' I said, 'come here.'

It leapt obediently into my lap and curled its legs together so that it resembled the original disc Eurytion had handed me. Using my dagger, I wedged apart the bronze compass and retrieved its magnetic needle. Then I etched a groove into the automaton where the activation button had been and fitted the needle in.

It worked. As soon as the compass needle was lodged into the automaton's body, it sprung back to life and started purposefully down the Labyrinth tunnel. I hoisted my bag back onto my shoulders and followed.

I don't remember much about the path back to the workshop or how long it took to get there. I was focused on keeping up with my automaton guide, trying very hard not to think about what had happened in the volcano. Eventually, I stumbled through the bunker door into Hephaestus's workshop.

The god of the forges was working on a robot, lifting its arm up while he oiled the joints. He looked up and stared when I arrived. The robot's arm creaked as it came back down.

'Correct me if I'm wrong,' he said slowly, 'but weren't there a few more of you?'

I nodded glumly. 'They—we split up from Grover and Tyson. And P-Percy …' The flood of tears threatened to engulf me again, but I remembered one of the last things Percy had said to me: _You have to tell Hephaestus what's going on._

I took a deep breath and told him everything, from the telkhines to my opening of the ice chamber. Hephaestus's face grew grave when I mentioned the explosion. He lumbered over to a worktable, swept a bunch of gadgets aside, and pulled out an orange iPad. He punched in his lock-code and it flickered to life. Headlines scrolled over the top: _MOUNT ST HELENS ERUPTS: GOVERNOR DECLARES STATE OF EMERGENCY._ Below was a photo of an ash cloud towering over a mountain.

'Did I do that?' I gasped.

Hephaestus shook his head. 'Couldn't have. The ice tunnel's just for washing out the equipment. I run it, oh, I dunno, once every couple of months? This is something bigger.' He frowned. 'You said the boy was on fire?'

I swallowed hard. 'Yes, sir. I saw—he was burning up, and the water rushed around him, but I don't know what happened next.' I still didn't understand it. Why hadn't the water put out the fire?

'Hm.' Hephaestus swiped across his iPad, blanking out the screen. 'He wasn't one of my kids, I'm certain.'

'No, Percy's—' I couldn't bring myself to say Percy _was,_ 'a son of Poseidon.'

Hephaestus considered this for a second. 'Interesting. Well, I reckon I'll have to head over there and check things out now.'

'Please, sir, do you think there's a chance—I mean, that Percy …'

Hephaestus looked at me long and hard. I thought his stony black eyes might have softened a bit. When he spoke, his voice was gruff. 'Mortals,' he sighed. 'So fragile. What you really want is a good automaton.' He returned to his robot. 'Maybe you'd like this one?'

'N-no. I just want Percy to be okay.'

Hephaestus rubbed his beard. Sparks flew from the ends of his fingers, igniting it with little puffs of smoke. 'I'll have a look around,' he said at last. 'But no promises, girl.'

'Thank you.'

'And I suppose we had a bargain. So you wanted to know about Daedalus.'

It was actually the last thing I felt like discussing now, but camp was counting on me.

'I need to find him.'

Hephaestus beckoned me over to a table with a world map spread across it. The map would have looked like any ordinary atlas if not for the coloured dots blinking up from different locations. The part with the United States was larger than all the rest of the world put together. I guess it was because the gods had all migrated here.

'I don't reveal this to just anyone,' Hephaestus said. 'But I suppose you've done me a solid favour.' He put his giant finger on one of the blinking dots. 'You need to go back to camp.'

'What?'

'That's where you'll find your answers.'

'But—that doesn't make any sense! We _left_ camp to find Daedalus.'

Hephaestus guided me away from his map. 'My GPS is never wrong.'

'You have GPS tracking on Daedalus?'

'I have trackers on everyone important.'

I didn't see how this was possible—well, not that Hephaestus kept tracking data on people, but how Daedalus could be at camp. Unless … the air turned cold. Unless Luke had brought him there with his invading army.

'I have to get to camp right away.'

'Didn't I just say that?' Hephaestus waved his hand at me. I knew the sign of dismissal as soon as I saw it, but I had one last question.

'Wait,' I said. 'How do I get back to the surface from here?'

Hephaestus directed me to a utility vault with ladder rungs in the side. It led out of a manhole onto a busy city road. I stumbled down the sidewalk, ignoring the revolted looks from passers-by at the filthy, soot-covered girl walking among them. It was a hundred degrees out, almost as hot as the interior of Mount St Helens. Sweat trickled down my neck, spreading the grime on my skin everywhere.

I found a crumpled newspaper that had fallen out of an overflowing trash can. The headline article was on the Mount St Helens eruption, so it must be today's paper. The date said June fifteenth—it had been over a week since we'd entered the Labyrinth. Surely we couldn't have been wandering down there that long! It had only seemed like a couple of nights. But sure enough, time had gotten away from us in the magical depths of the maze.

I found a puddle in a back alley with a spill of oil that made a wavering rainbow on the ground. By some miracle, I had one golden drachma stuck deep in my pocket. I made the offering to Iris and called Chiron.

'Annabeth.' Chiron didn't look surprised to see me. 'I heard …'

'You heard?' My heart leapt. Had Percy somehow …

'Argus is on his way. He received a message from Hera.'

I swallowed hard. 'Oh. Um.'

Chiron picked up on my disappointment. 'What happened, child? Argus didn't get any details, just that he must travel west to find you.' He looked around. 'Where are Percy, Grover, and Tyson?'

Blinking back tears, I told him what had happened at Hephaestus's forge.

'So Grover and Tyson are still in the maze,' Chiron said. 'And Percy …' He sighed heavily.

'Hephaestus said he would look for him.'

'I see. And did Hephaestus say anything else?'

'Yes—he told me I had to return to camp to find Daedalus. I don't get that part. I thought maybe … did Luke attack?'

Chiron frowned. 'No. We are still guarding the entrance, but nothing has emerged. I hoped you and Percy had thwarted Luke's plans, but it seems we will have to tighten security. As for Hephaestus's claims that Daedalus is at camp … I cannot fathom what he means, either. But if he told you to return, it is best that you hurry.'

'I'll head east right away.'

A large bike pulled up on the sidewalk outside my alley with a loud roar. Someone was coming. I cut the connection and headed out.

'Hey, kid.'

Blocking my way was a beefy woman in army fatigues. She stood next to a black-and-silver Harley, her arms crossed over her camouflage jacket. There was something familiar about her stringy brown hair and the way she stared at me, as though sizing up an opponent for a fight.

I held up my hands. 'I'm just leaving.'

'I know that stuff,' said the woman, jerking her head towards the puddle. 'You're one of them, aren't you?'

'I don't know what you're talking about.' My hand slipped into my pocket, where my dagger lay. Either she was crazy, or she knew I was a demigod. Neither was a good sign.

The woman made an impatient noise. 'Kids of gods.'

I was about to draw my dagger, certain she was a monster, when she said, 'Like my daughter, Clarisse.'

My jaw dropped. 'Mrs—uh, Ms La Rue?'

I'd never met Clarisse's mom before. I knew she lived in Phoenix and she'd looked after Chris when he turned up near the city, but I also knew that Clarisse lived year-round at camp. I wasn't sure what to make of these two facts.

Ms La Rue extended her hand. 'That's me. Now, which of Clarisse's friends are you, and what are you doing in Phoenix?'

Clarisse's mom brought me back to her house, a cluttered two-bedroom mobile home half an hour out of the city. The living room looked like a cross between a workshop and an ammunitions warehouse. Ms La Rue seemed to stockpile guns and ammo.

I told her very briefly that I'd been on a quest underground and had ended up in Phoenix by mistake.

'I need to get back to camp, pronto.'

'Huh,' she said. Now that I knew they were related, she really sounded a lot like Clarisse. 'Well, if you want to stay the night, you can have Clarisse's room. S'pose if she minds, you guys can sort it out at camp.' She smirked a little. I got the feeling she knew 'sort it out' was synonymous to 'pulverise me' for Clarisse. I also got the feeling she didn't particularly care.

Well, she _was_ a woman who had drawn the attention of Ares, god of war.

'I'm headed to Texas tomorrow. Got deployed to Abilene. I can take you along if you like. Get you further east, anyhow.'

'Deployed?'

'Military base,' she explained. 'I'm a weapons engineer for the army. Travel round lots, gotta stay on site for weeks at a time. S'easier for Clarisse to stay at camp, what with all of that.'

She waved me off to Clarisse's room. It was as full of weapons as the living room, only these were of the ancient Greek variety—spears and javelins and such. A dented breastplate leaned against the bed. There was a plumed helmet and a pair of greaves in one corner. They looked like the ones Chris had been wearing when he'd popped out of the Labyrinth last year.

It gave me a funny feeling to think that Chris had also stayed in this room. I nearly laughed. Here I was, out of the Labyrinth into the desert, feeling close to madness. Just like Chris Rodriguez.

The next morning, an ominous line of smog hovered north of the city.

'Ash cloud,' Clarisse's mom grunted. 'Saw that eruption on the news? Volcano erupts in Washington State and we get ash spewing all the way down here. Figures.'

We drove southeast to avoid the billowing ash. Clarisse's mom didn't seem to like main roads. 'Too many shitty drivers,' she said, and took us down side streets and country lanes. She revved her Harley loudly and sped through the tiny towns. I don't think the residents were too pleased to have a crazy biker lady tearing through this early in the morning.

Around midday, we roared up near Carlsbad Caverns, where Clarisse's mom suggested we stop for lunch. She bought us a chilli corn dog each from the kiosk near the tourist centre. Tourists roamed past us in large groups, dressed for a romp in the caves. The chalky scent of limestone drifted across the parking lot. I could see the rocky outer walls of the cave, dotted with moss and lichen in the cracks. The cave entrance looked like the crooked jaws of a rocky beast, with stalactites and stalagmites framing it unevenly.

'I met Clarisse's dad here, you know,' Ms La Rue commented, waving her hand towards the national park. This struck me as strange. Ares didn't seem the type to enjoy long hikes in nature.

'I was with the military police at the time. They sent us into the local town to put down a riot.' She grinned. 'He was smoking hot with a gun.'

Yeah, that was more like it. 'Er, okay,' I said.

She laughed. 'I guess you're not one of Clarisse's cabin mates, then.'

'No. I'm cabin six.'

'That's … Athena?'

'Yeah.'

She snorted. 'Brainiac kids.'

I felt a twinge of annoyance. 'Athena's a goddess of war, too. She—'

A large blue bird minced out of the bushes and pecked at my feet. Startled, I jumped to the side.

It was a peacock, its feathery tail folded behind it. The bird eyed my hot dog like it wanted a bite. Then its head darted forward and snatched my Yankees cap right out of my pocket.

'Hey!' I made a grab for my cap, but the peacock turned and fanned out its tail in my face. Dozens of turquoise eyes glared at me from among the feathers.

The peacock took off down the road. For a diminutive bird, it was fast. I chased angrily after it.

It soon became clear why the peacock had pickpocketed me. It ran up to a delivery van parked on the other side of the Carlsbad Caverns tourist car park. The peacock dropped my hat at the van door, under the painted strawberries on the side.

Argus stuck his head out of the window. He and the bird gave each other a nod, then the peacock folded its tail and dashed off.

Of course. A peacock … one of Hera's sacred animals.

Ms La Rue hurried up behind me. 'What in the name of Satan's butthole was that?'

'A sign of Hera,' I said. 'And this is my ride back to camp.'

Clarisse's mom looked at Argus and the van with deep misgivings. 'You sure about that, kid?'

'Positive.'

'Well, okay then.' She shrugged. 'You give Clarisse this from me.' And she punched me hard in the shoulder.

I winced. 'Thanks, Ms La Rue.'

'You got it.'

I climbed into the front seat of the van. All of Argus's eyes watched me with sympathy. Many of them were bloodshot. He must have driven through the night to make it here this quickly.

I braced myself for the questions and the explaining I'd have to do, but of course, Argus didn't speak. I was grateful now for his taciturn personality. All I wanted to do on the long ride was curl up into a ball of misery.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

 **A/N** : Apologies for the brief chemistry lesson. My mum's a chemistry teacher; it's obviously rubbed off at some point. But if you end up remembering sublimation = conversion from solid to gas and it comes up on an exam … that's a bonus, right?

Anyway, I'm also sorry that this has been another week of being really bad with replying to reviews. I'm getting on a flight for a long trip to Singapore on Wednesday, and trying to get my thesis fully drafted before I go ... let's just say it ain't easy. But thank you so much for commenting on the last chapter. I'm so grateful that so many of you have popped out of the woodwork to say something. **Hello, CQ816, SG2000, Livvi May, MiraEstrellas, JustADerangedFanGirl, Numberfivewithabullet, randomstories7777, OverLordRevan, thatoneguy, DragonStorm88, MariaClaire, ArtimuosJackson** —you guys are the best! :)

The last two chapter have been some of my favourites so far, as they were about answering many, many questions that arose from Mount St Helens, starting with the simple, _how did Annabeth make it back to camp?_ I hope the ice cave addition has been believable and doesn't take away from Percy's power—he drew on water, yes, but I like to think that it came from a source, and having Annabeth unwittingly supply him with that source just plays into that beautiful, supportive dynamic of their relationship. (Or maybe I'm just being too much of a romantic.) And, I mean, the crater glacier explanation is _right there_. I can't believe RR didn't use it to begin with ... could have been an easier set-up! I know that for some of you, this was pushing things too far. That's okay, and I appreciate that you feel comfortable enough to tell me straight.

And one point I'd like to clarify—I'm really sorry if my note last chapter sounded like a dig at RR for including the bellybutton thing in the first place. I don't think it was a bad detail to throw in, and was definitely a light, fun moment. I meant to explain why I skimmed over it, for anyone who might have been hoping to see that conversation. I still don't think it's plot important in canon (it hasn't come up as far as I can tell) but it's a nice character moment and details like that are fun. What I meant was that for this story, I couldn't make it work without losing my narrative flow (and perhaps that's just my own failings as a writer that I shall have to work on).

I probably fudged a load of stuff about the glacier ... sorry, not a geographer, so have taken many writer's liberties with the physical sequence of events … but then the actual canon explosion isn't how volcanoes actually work, either, so there you have it. PJO universe follows magical laws.

More questions came into play this chapter: why Clarisse is a year-rounder, how Annabeth knew about Carlsbad Caverns, and basically I love that I could tackle them all in one little package. I hope you guys have enjoyed it!

Big thanks to **strawberrygirl2000** for the dialect lesson on how Americans talk about GPS. Apparently 'sat nav' isn't a thing for you guys? Totally would not have known that!


	18. We Have A Run-In With Jewellery Thieves

**A/N:** Yes, I know I'm late this week. I'm sorry! I'll explain later. Chapter first!

Chapter 18: We Have A Run-In With Jewellery Thieves

It took another two days to get to Long Island. By the time we pulled up at camp, I estimated it had been about four since the Mount St Helens eruption. The whole journey, I hoped Hephaestus would at least send me a sign after his promise to keep an eye out for Percy, but there was nothing at all.

Silena Beauregard spotted me first. She was giving a pegasus-riding lesson—I guess the focus was on combat riding, because the Apollo kids were shooting at targets from horseback—and she cried out from the air, 'Annabeth's back!'

She landed her pegasus gracefully on the lawn, earning a dirty look from the satyrs who were tending the grass with their woodland magic. Campers ran out from every corner to welcome me, excitement on their faces. I saw Juniper come sprinting out from the woods and my insides twisted painfully.

How was I going to explain to her that I'd let Grover go off on his own in search of Pan?

How was I going to explain to any of them that I'd failed, that Luke was still out there with Daedalus, and that Percy was …

'She's alone!'

'Where's Percy?'

'Four on a quest—it was a bad omen.'

Juniper stopped in her tracks. The satyrs on the lawn hit a discordant note, making the carefully tended grass grow rapidly out of control. The mutters rose around me in urgent, panicked whispers.

Chiron appeared by my side. 'Child,' he said, reaching for my shoulder.

I couldn't help it. I burst into tears.

Arms came around me. Someone was stroking my hair and murmuring soothingly in my ear, like a mom. I looked up to see Silena crying along with me.

Chiron put an arm around each of us and guided us to the porch of the Big House. Dimly, I noticed the other counsellors ushering their campers away. Someone led Silena's pegasus back to the stables. Eventually, it was just me, Silena, and Chiron sitting on the porch.

I took a deep, shaky breath.

'I'm sorry,' Silena whispered.

I shook my head. 'I'm okay. You can go. I—I need to talk to Chiron.'

Silena gave me a tragic look and another hug. She ran off in the direction of the camp forge.

Chiron handed me a handkerchief. I blew my nose.

'You didn't tell them,' I said, glancing at the cabins. The campers were probably speculating about what had happened.

'No.' Chiron's face was lined and tired, older than I'd ever seen him look. 'I—well, I suppose until you got here, there was always the hope …' He sighed. 'Tell me everything again, child.'

It took a while to tell the whole story. I started from the very beginning, with our descent into the Labyrinth and our first meeting with Janus and Hera in the room with the Roman fountain. That part was easier to talk about.

Chiron listened quietly through my recounting of Alcatraz, Geryon's ranch, and Hephaestus's workshop. He looked concerned when I said that Kampê was back, and even more troubled when I told him about finding Nico and summoning Minos and Bianca. He smiled faintly at Percy's shooting of Geryon.

'To think what a poor shot he always was at archery lessons,' he murmured, running a hand over his rump.

My voice cracked when I reached our scouting mission for Hephaestus—how Grover and Tyson had gone off in search for Pan while Percy and I went on to the volcano. I told him about the telkhines cornering us. How Percy had insisted on sending me away. How I'd opened the door to the ice cave, hoping to unleash a flood to save Percy.

'It was my fault,' I sobbed. 'I thought it would help. I meant for Percy to come back alive, not …'

'Do not blame yourself, my dear,' Chiron said. 'You did not cause the eruption of Mount St Helens.'

'But—'

'Percy is the son of the earthshaker. I believe it was he who caused the explosion that destroyed the forge and our enemies along with it. When you opened the door to the glacial chamber, all you did was facilitate his access to a source of power he could draw on. But he had to use it, to harness the power within him. It seems your prophecy rang true: _destroy with a hero's final breath._ '

' _And lose a love to worse than death,_ ' I whispered.

'I'm sorry?'

I repeated it. 'It was the last line of the prophecy.' I forgot that I hadn't told Chiron about it.

It had all played out in the end. I'd delved in the darkness of the endless maze. We'd raised the dead traitor—Minos, I guess—and the lost one—Bianca. I wasn't too sure about _the ghost king's hand …_ maybe that had something to do with Minos, whispering in the maze. Grover and Tyson were still lost down there. Maybe that had been a trick to split us up after all.

I'd made my final stand in the heart of the volcano, only it wasn't _my_ final breath that had destroyed it.

And I'd lost … I'd lost …

'It's my fault,' I repeated. 'It's my fault he di—' I couldn't say the word. I couldn't make it real.

Maybe he wasn't. _Worse than death,_ the prophecy had said.

Was it worse if he was alive but in horrible pain, pain that was worse than death?

Chiron didn't tell me not to blame myself this time. He hugged me gently. 'I am sorry, child. We will—organise the funeral. I had truly hoped … Alas.'

My head jerked up. 'Funeral?'

'For Percy,' he said. 'He died a hero. We will prepare his shroud, and—'

'No, you can't,' I protested. 'What if he's still alive?'

'Annabeth—'

'He could still be. He …' I thought of another reason to hope. 'The Great Prophecy. It says Percy has to reach sixteen.'

'Annabeth, we don't know that the prophecy will refer to him.'

'But it has to, there's no one …' My voice trailed off into heavy silence. As far as I knew, Nico di Angelo was still on Geryon's ranch. If Percy was gone, he was now the new prophecy kid. 'He claimed it,' I said miserably, thinking of Percy's vow last winter. 'He …'

Chiron looked at me severely and I knew he'd worked it out. I'd told him about Nico raising the dead.

'He wanted to protect Nico,' I said. 'He didn't want Nico to deal with the responsibility.' Just like he'd wanted to protect me from the telkhines.

At last, Chiron said, 'We will wait two weeks.'

'Two weeks? But … Clarisse was missing for longer than that last year! And nobody declared her dead!'

'Two weeks,' Chiron repeated. 'Given what Hera told you, I think the chances of his survival are slim. Two weeks is already a generous grace period. And … I must inform his mother. Excuse me.' There was a hollow, ancient look in his eyes. I wondered how many times he'd had to make this call, to tell a mortal parent that their demigod child was gone.

I thought of Sally, with her kind eyes and comforting smile, and a lump crept into my throat.

'I'll come with you,' I said. 'She'll want to know what happened. I was there.'

Chiron nodded. Together, we went to his office to set up the Iris-message.

When we told Sally what had happened, her face set in an expression that nearly made me burst into tears again. The determination in her eyes was the same fierce look Percy had given me in Hephaestus's forge, right before I'd kissed him.

'Percy is all right,' she said.

My heart was thumping so loudly, I was sure Chiron and Sally could both hear it. 'How do you know?'

'You said there was no body?' she asked me.

I shook my head. 'There wasn't anything. I asked Hephaestus to find him, and I hope … well, maybe there's still a chance?'

'But Hera told Annabeth that Percy is in a better place,' Chiron said. 'It is likely that—'

'I believe in Percy,' Sally said. 'As long as there's a chance he made it, I believe he'll find his way back home.'

Sally was just like her son. Her faith was incredibly strong. She'd never give up on someone she loved. I wanted to be like her, to believe, but fear and doubt had been my bosom companions since I was a child.

'Annabeth.' Sally reached out like she wanted to cup my face in her hands. 'Don't lose hope, okay, honey?'

I nodded. My throat was too tight to speak.

Over the next week, whispers followed me wherever I went. When I turned to see who was talking, campers averted their eyes and quickly found someplace else to be. It was how they'd behaved years ago, when Luke had returned from his quest without his companions and without the golden apple he'd been sent to retrieve. Now it was my turn.

Juniper wouldn't even come near me. I was sure she blamed me for Grover's absence. Even Silena, who had comforted me on the day of my return, seemed unable to meet my eyes any more. She teared up constantly in my presence, making it difficult for me to go about business as usual.

'She's a daughter of Aphrodite,' Beckendorf said. 'To her, what happened—well, it's the most tragic thing ever.'

He and Clarisse were the only ones who still treated me normally. They had to be disappointed that my quest wasn't successful, but they took it in their stride.

'I bet Daedalus wouldn't have helped us anyway,' Clarisse said grimly. 'Anyone who can make something as evil as the Labyrinth …'

I shared with them what Hephaestus had said about Daedalus being at camp, but they were just as mystified by this assertion. I was beginning to feel extremely bitter towards the god of the forges. After the expensive favour I'd done him, all I'd gotten was more misdirection. He was right—you really couldn't trust anyone … least of all the gods.

For the first time, I really, truly understood why Luke might have made the choices he had.

But it wasn't enough to make me give up. Percy would never forgive me if I turned traitor.

OoOoO

We had a mini war council a week after my return, just Chiron, Quintus, Clarisse, Beckendorf, and me. We gathered in the infirmary, which Clarisse hardly left these days. Chris had been moved up here from the basement. He'd deteriorated sharply since I'd been away, barely eating or drinking.

Silena sighed. 'I tried talking him back to life, but …'

Why would she think her cajoling would be any more effective than Clarisse's? Unless …

'You can Charmspeak?' It was a rare persuasive skill, usually exhibited by evil sorceresses and monsters like _empousai_. I'd heard some children of Aphrodite had the power, but I'd never suspected Silena of having it.

'I don't like to do it usually,' she admitted. I don't want to just make people do stuff. But in this case—I wish it'd worked.'

Nobody wanted to say it to Clarisse, but if Mr D didn't get back soon, Percy's probably wouldn't be the only funeral on the horizon.

'I think I should go back into the Labyrinth,' I told Chiron.

'Are you insane?' Clarisse said. She waved a hand at Chris's catatonic form. 'Why would you _want_ to go back?'

'Maybe Hephaestus meant that the workshop is directly below camp. If there's still a chance I could find Daedalus … Besides, Grover and Tyson are still down there.'

Nobody mentioned Percy. Even I didn't dare to bring him up.

'I do not think this is a wise decision,' Quintus said. 'It seems that you have already done what you can.'

'I agree,' Chiron said. 'If your quest is complete, there is nothing more we can do.'

'Hang on,' Beckendorf said. 'If Hephaestus said Daedalus is here, he must have had a reason. Isn't it worth a shot to check it out? At least have a look under the bit we're guarding?'

Quintus looked at Beckendorf curiously. 'You think Hephaestus has reason to believe that the, ah, inventor is near the camp?'

Beckendorf scratched his head. 'Well, I don't know about Daedalus, but Hephaestus is my dad. I don't think he would have sent Annabeth here without a reason.'

I threw Beckendorf a grateful look. 'Please, Chiron. Just let me go in.'

Chiron studied me carefully. To my disappointment, he shook his head. 'We will check it out. But not you, Annabeth. Your eagerness to return concerns me.'

'The Labyrinth can twist your mind,' Quintus agreed. 'Draw you in against your judgement.'

'How do you know?'

'I've been inside, too, young lady.' He crossed his arms. 'You were lucky enough to make it out. I wouldn't be in a hurry to return.'

Chiron gave Quintus a long, searching look. At last, he decided, 'Quintus will check the entrance at Zeus's Fist. He will descend into the tunnel, but go no further. If there is no sign of Daedalus's workshop immediately below the surface, he will return and that will be the end of the matter. We have lost enough to the maze.'

OoOoO

It seemed to take Quintus forever to return from the tunnel. We waited for hours at the battle station outside the entrance. I guess it was like the first time Percy and I had fallen into the maze by accident. A few minutes for us had been hours on the surface.

Just when we were ready to give him up as lost, the maze entrance slid open and Quintus climbed back out. We all stared at him hopefully, but he shook his head.

'Nothing, I'm afraid. Give up your search for Daedalus, young lady. If the inventor does not wish to be found … even Hephaestus will not track him down.'

Mrs O'Leary bounded into the clearing out of nowhere. She ran up to Quintus and licked his face. Quintus put his arms around her and scratched her ruff. When he looked up again, his face seemed haggard, a million years older. He looked at the fortifications we'd set up around Zeus's Fist as though assessing their capabilities.

'I'm sorry,' he said quietly.

Clarisse threw her spear into the ground so violently, it planted in the soil and stood upright, quivering. She stalked off in the direction of the infirmary.

Quintus whistled to Mrs O'Leary and off they went as well. Chiron watched them go with a strange look on his face.

'At least we have a hellhound on our side,' Lee Fletcher said tentatively.

' _One_ hellhound,' Katie Gardner reminded him. 'Luke probably has dozens.'

Beckendorf tapped my arm. 'Annabeth, maybe there's something …'

I followed him away from the clearing so that we could talk.

'I know my dad told you to come to camp to find Daedalus. But what if that isn't the answer?'

'What do you mean?'

'We've been counting on Daedalus to help us shut off the Labyrinth entrance, but maybe we just need to find a better defence.'

I gestured towards our pitiful border defences. I'd seen the strength of Luke's army. Kampê alone would decimate half our shield line with one swipe of her barbed tail. 'Everyone's already doing their best.'

'We've counted on the Fleece all this while to protect the camp,' Beckendorf said. 'But before it—before Thalia's tree … I heard there was another protector. Something from the Hephaestus cabin.'

'What was it?'

Beckendorf raised his hands apologetically. 'No one's ever seen it. I think it disappeared years before Thalia … you know. But some of the old blueprints in our cabin … well, I think there was a dragon.'

'Like Peleus?' I wasn't too excited about this. Peleus hadn't been much of a deterrent against the Aethiopian drakon.

Beckendorf shook his head. 'Bigger. An automaton.'

'And you think it's … in the woods?'

'Automatons get ratty after a while. Sometimes they just need a tune-up. If we could find it and … well, I could try and fix it. If it used to protect camp, maybe it could do it again.'

I turned this idea over along with the ring on my camp necklace. I'd never heard of this dragon automaton, but there were stories of a camp guardian before Thalia's tree. Of course, none of us except Chiron would remember it. The fact that he'd never suggested it as an option was telling.

But I had no other ideas. 'Okay,' I told Beckendorf. 'Let's go dragon-hunting.'

I'd lost count of the number of times I'd searched these woods for stuff. We'd looked for Nico di Angelo last winter, and the scorpions for capture the flag, and of course we'd spent days scouting for the Labyrinth entrance. But every time, there seemed to be more to it, a deeper section I'd never come across. It was like the woods were its own Labyrinth, an ever-expanding maze of trees.

After an hour or so trawling through hidden caves and marshy swamps, we came across a gigantic mound right in the middle of nowhere. It looked like a massive lump of dough sitting on the earth, with pitted holes in its sides.

Beckendorf grabbed my arm. I could tell he was excited, like this might be it—the dragon's lair. Although why a big metal dragon would want to hide out in a mound of earth, I couldn't understand.

Then the first creature emerged from a hole in the mound.

It wasn't a dragon. It wasn't even an automaton. At least, I was pretty sure it wasn't.

It was a two-foot-long armoured insect with six spindly black legs, clicking pincers, and pointy antenna sticking out of its little helmeted head. Behind it came another one, and another, and another, all marching from the mound like a well-trained army of giant ants.

'Myrmekes!' I pulled Beckendorf behind a clump of bushes. 'It's an ant hill!'

Beckendorf swore. 'You don't think—is that another Labyrinth entrance?'

We watched the Myrmekes for a while. I knew Luke had some in his army—Thalia and I had blown up a couple once—but these didn't seem like an invading vanguard. As one line of ants headed out into the trees, another came marching back, bearing the strangest collection of items on their backs and in their pincers. Some were bronze weapons, but they were broken scraps rather than battle-ready spears and swords. I also spotted a golden jug, a crystal vase, and a sparkling necklace, among other things. The one common feature about this otherwise random assortment of items was that they were all bright and shiny. The Myrmekes carried them into the ant hill like magpies after a successful foraging mission.

'I don't think these are an army,' I said. 'I think they … live here.'

Before we could decide what to do about the ant hill, there was a rustle of leaves behind us, a snap of branches, and a deadly rattle that I knew all too well: the sound of a poisonous arachnid about to strike.

I pushed Beckendorf to the ground just as the scorpion's sting whizzed through the air where our heads had been. We rolled out of the bushes. I saw the scorpion's pincers coming at our faces, and then— _CLANG!_ Beckendorf activated his shield.

'I thought we killed them all!' I yelled as we clambered back, out of reach of the scorpion's swinging tail and clicking pincers.

'Quintus got more for the next game night,' Beckendorf grunted. He blocked another attack.

'What is it doing here _now,_ then?'

'I don't know. Quintus is supposed to be in charge.'

The Myrmekes stopped in their foraging line to stare at us. The scorpion advanced. A golden laurel wreath dangled from its pincers.

Beckendorf and I exchanged a look. 'Are you thinking what I'm thinking?'

He nodded. Together we charged the scorpion with his shield and forced it towards the line of Myrmekes. The ants scattered.

And then they swarmed. The scorpion thrashed, trying to sting the Myrmekes, but its tail couldn't pierce their armoured shells. One ant snatched up the golden laurel wreath. Another must have gotten in a bite, because the scorpion went still. First its tail froze, then its legs gave way underneath. The paralysis would wear off after a while, but as the Myrmekes hefted the scorpion away into their lair, I suspected the scorpion wouldn't get to wait it out. Not that I was too cut up about it.

Beckendorf and I didn't hang around to watch. We ran before the Myrmekes could come after us. But as we dashed through the woods, we heard the tell-tale rustling of more dangerous monsters picking up our scent.

'They're not _all_ loose in the woods, are they?' I moaned. The three I'd faced with Percy had been bad enough.

In answer to my question, two scorpions burst through a gap in the trees. They chased us all the way back to Zeus's Fist. By that time, the remaining three had caught up. The guards on duty came charging out of their tents, swords raised. Someone blew a conch horn. Campers flooded the woods.

I guess I should have been impressed by how quickly everyone responded to the alarm, but even with our full force, it still took twenty minutes to take down all five scorpions. And this was with Mrs O'Leary chewing one up all by herself. It only served as a reminder of how unprepared we were for a real attack.

'Is that it?' Travis said, giving one scorpion corpse a kick before it crumbled into dust. 'That's Luke's army?'

'Don't be stupid,' Clarisse said. 'Those were Quintus's scorpions. Besides, they didn't come from the tunnel.'

Mrs O'Leary trotted up to me, swaying slightly. She put her head in my hands and whined.

I stroked her ears. 'I think she's been stung. Get a medic!'

Will Solace hurried up to tend to her while I looked around for her master. 'Where's Quintus?'

We scanned the clearing, but he hadn't come to join the fight.

'Did he set this up, like a test?' Lee asked.

Chiron looked concerned. 'If that was his intent, he did not warn me. It appears I must have a chat with him about being more up front about his training exercises.'

'Don't bother!' Juniper slid out of her tree. 'He's gone.'

I hadn't seen her since the day I'd returned to camp alone. She looked awful. Her green-tinted skin was the yellowish colour of leaves that hadn't been watered for too long. Even the patch of juniper she lived in looked like it was shrivelling up from lack of care.

'What do you mean, Juniper?' Chiron asked.

'I saw him,' she said. 'When you were all distracted by the scorpions, he came into the clearing and …'

'And what?' I pressed.

She gave me an accusatory glare, like it was my fault Quintus had absconded. 'He slipped away in there.'

And she pointed to the Labyrinth entrance.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

 **A/N** : This chapter may be a bit controversial in the sense that I didn't have Annabeth moping around the entire two weeks of Percy's disappearance. The thing is, I'm not really of the view that she would fall apart completely without him. I think she would feel it keenly, but Annabeth is a girl of action. And also the romanticised view of someone who can't function at length without their partner by their side is is one I take issue with and wish to avoid. Not because it doesn't happen in life, but because it is a dangerous and damaging experience. I truly hope that I have not fallen back into the maiden-pining-for-the-hero trope and please do let me know if any of this has failed to rise beyond it.

I'm sorry this chapter is late! I am in a different time zone now, but even though I'm ahead, I kind of thought I was buying a bit more time posting Sunday morning, but I had to get my marking done first, and I'm jet-lagged, and have had to essentially move out of home (long, complicated story), so yeah. SORRY!

Thank you **OverLordRevan, Hello, thatoneguy, Thunderwolf7226, Anon, ArtimuosJackson, JustADerangedFanGirl,** and **CQ816** for your comments last week. Sorry again that I haven't been able to get to individual replies (I seem to be saying that a lot!)


	19. Percy Gate-Crashes His Funeral

**A/N** : This chapter is rated PG-13/T for references to teen relationship drama.

Chapter 19: Percy Gate-Crashes His Funeral

The news of Quintus's desertion left the camp in a state of panic. Half the campers were convinced he had gone to join Luke. The other half believed he'd run before the invasion could begin. Either way, our spirits were at an all-time low. It didn't help that two nights later, Chiron announced at dinnertime that it was time to prepare for Percy's funeral.

'Annabeth, I thought you could make the speech,' he said.

'No,' I said. 'We can't give up.' I looked among the other tables, looking for someone to back me up. Everybody suddenly developed an interest in the dinner plates.

When I stopped by the infirmary later, Clarisse dragged herself away from Chris's bedside long enough to berate me. 'Thought Prissy was your friend.'

'He _is._ '

'Right. That's why you're refusing to honour him.'

'I'm refusing to believe he's d—he's gone.'

Clarisse shook her head. 'It's our custom. We always burn a shroud if heroes don't come back.'

I cast a pointed look at Chris. 'Are _you_ making one for Chris?'

Her fists came up. 'Don't even joke about that.'

'I'm not joking. You're telling me to give up on Percy, but you're not giving up on Chris.'

'Chris is _here._ I don't see your little boyfriend anywhere.'

I crossed my arms and turned away, not bothering to correct her.

'Look, the funeral's tomorrow. Just make a shroud and say something sappy. If you wont' do it, I will,' she threatened.

I gave in. The last time Clarisse was in charge of making Percy a shroud, it had been nothing but a bedsheet with marker-ink patterns and the word _LOSER_ scrawled over it. Although I didn't think Clarisse would really be mean enough to mess up Percy's memorial speech and shroud now, I couldn't let him have anything but the best. I owed him that much.

I wove the shroud myself. I brought the loom into the empty Poseidon cabin. No one stopped me.

In the back of the cabin was a scatter of grey rock and glittering coral. I vaguely remembered Tyson saying something about Percy destroying their water fountain on the morning we entered the Labyrinth. I'd never asked why. It was too late now.

I set up my loom next to the shattered remains of the fountain and began to weave. A perpetual breeze flowed through the cabin, like salty sea air. It seemed to infuse itself into the green silk between my fingers. A trident was etched into the wall above the bunk beds, the same symbol that had flashed over Percy's head the night he'd been claimed. I embroidered it into the fabric of the shroud.

I wove all through the night, taking infinite care with my work. When I was done, I cut the thread with my dagger. The knife trembled in my hands. I put it down and ran my hands over the silky material of the shroud. It was the exact colour of Percy's eyes, with a shimmer that would catch the sunlight just like his did, like a sunbeam on water.

Tears came. I climbed into Percy's bunk. It was empty and unmade, like he'd crawled straight out of it on the morning of our quest.

He'd never make his bed again.

I wrapped the shroud around myself and wept. My tears fell into the fabric, drowning it in my sorrow. My heart felt like a rag that had been wrung out too often. Surely there had to be a statute of limitations on how many times a heart could break?

At some point, I must have fallen asleep, because for the first time in two weeks, I had a dream.

I saw a gorgeous woman lounging on a settee with a bucket of popcorn in her lap. She looked like a film star with her elaborate, chestnut-brown curls and perfect, pore-less skin. I don't think she ever looked the same any two times I'd seen her, but you always knew when you lay eyes on Aphrodite. It sent this irrational haze of inadequacy and resentment bubbling through me, like her overwhelming beauty had stolen something from me, leaving me pale and drab.

Her eyes were fixed on a tiny box television. It was the old-fashioned kind, with an aerial sticking out the back. The pictures on the screen were in black and white. They showed a dinner table that had been laid out for a romantic evening: a centrepiece with flickering candles, two elegant glasses, fine silver crockery. The actors weren't on screen yet.

'Tonight, on _Calypso's Island …_ ' said the television narrator.

Aphrodite had drawn out a fistful of popcorn, but her hand paused on the way to her mouth. Her cherry-red lips broke into a dazzling smile. 'Oh, this is going to be so _good!_ I _knew_ the desert island gig would be an entertainment gold mine.' She raised her remote and paused the show. 'Darling, do you want to come watch?'

A gruff, booming voice yelled back, 'Don't call me darling!'

Aphrodite giggled and went back to her show. She pressed play, but the programme didn't resume. Frowning, she banged the remote against the arm of the settee. It didn't work.

'He _phae_ stus!' she complained. 'What did you do with my show?'

I heard the heavy, uneven footsteps of the mechanic clomping about in the other room. 'What'd you want to watch that for, anyway? Been centuries since that show's had any new material.'

'But it finally has a new twist! Haven't you been following? _Another lost hero … will he finally be the one?_ '

The footsteps stopped abruptly.

'Hephaestus?'

Silence from the other room.

'Miserable old cynic,' Aphrodite grumbled, flinging her handful of popcorn at the door. 'You'd better be going to fix my reception!'

I ducked the shower of popcorn. Aphrodite sat up and stared at me.

'Oh!' Her eyes sparkled. 'Well, never mind, this is even better! Hello, my dear.' She patted the cushion beside her. Against their will, my legs carried me over to the settee and deposited me next to her.

'I've been following your live feed _avidly,_ ' she said. 'It's even better than _Days of Our (Eternal) Lives,_ or _Ithaca Girls!_ Didn't I tell you your love life had so much potential for a good story?'

She lifted her remote and changed the channel. My angry retort died on my lips when I saw the image that flickered to life on the screen. It was me, outlined in sepia tones, framed in the doorway of my dad's house in San Francisco. Luke stood in front of me, wringing his hands.

'I love that scene.' Aphrodite's delicate eyelashes fluttered. 'So rife with emotion. All that pent-up hostility. The accusations about another lover.'

My cheeks burned. 'That—that's not what happened at _all._ I wasn't—I didn't love—'

Aphrodite raised an eyebrow. She pressed another button on her remote. The scene fast-forwarded to one that made my face flame as brightly as the volcanic backdrop: Percy and me, locked in a desperate kiss.

A strangled noise escaped my throat, half-sob, half-choke. Aphrodite smiled smugly.

'My husband thinks he has the market cornered on entertainment, but puh- _lease._ Family sitcoms, game shows, action flicks? _Bor_ -ing. People want _drama._ They want misunderstandings, and UST, and heartbreak.'

 _Heartbreak._ The word stabbed me in the chest. ' _You_ orchestrated all of this?'

'Of course not!' Aphrodite sighed like she wished she had. 'Nobody can control what the Fates write. But I keep a close eye on all their works. FateFiction dot net has a wonderful subscription service now. And maybe I do send them an idea or two from time to time. You know, to help them when they get writers' block. _I_ know what makes a good love story.'

'I'm not your—I don't—please stop.'

'Stop?' Aphrodite clasped her hands together. 'Without knowing your final choice? The audience would be devastated! Then again, a cliffy might raise the show's ratings …' She pursed her lips.

I wanted to fling her remote at the TV. On screen, I was at the door to the ice caves. I couldn't watch what came next. 'I _made_ my choice. It was a disaster.'

Aphrodite smiled knowingly. 'Oh, dearie. Did you think you would only have one choice to make?'

It was the same thing Hera had said. I still didn't know what they meant by it.

'Here,' Aphrodite said. 'You'll want to see this.' She waved her remote. The screen buzzed. Black and grey lines zigzagged across it. Then it resolved into a close-up image of the face that I longed so badly to see.

I stumbled forward to the TV screen, pressing my fingers to the static picture of Percy's cheeks. The screen widened. I fell through onto a moonlit beach dotted with seashells and starfish. Aphrodite and her settee were gone. I was invisible, a ghost, watching Percy stroll down the soft, white sand.

Foamy waves lapped at the shore's edge. It was the most beautiful beach I'd ever seen, pristine and untrammelled by man. I knew right away that no litter had ever polluted these shores; no tourist had ever befouled this piece of nature. Its perfection made my breath catch in my throat.

I was sure nothing like this existed in our world.

Percy arrived at a little cove by the water's edge and took a seat on a rock. He stared out over the water. His brow was furrowed, with a rare crease in his forehead. I'd seen it before when he'd asked me about his prophecy last year, and just before he'd insisted on claiming it to protect Nico.

I drank in the sight of him. After weeks spent worrying about him, replaying my last image of him, doused in fire, it was a relief to see him whole and healthy—more than healthy, in fact. His face was clean and shining, not a bruise or scratch on it. Though his expression was brooding, it bore no trace of pain. His skin glowed, like he'd been bathing in moonlight.

He was perfect.

I missed him so much, my heart ached. I didn't know where he was—Elysium, maybe. I had no doubt he'd be given entrance to the selective Underworld community for heroes. But wherever he was, it was peaceful and safe, free from the burden of prophecies and deadly choices.

He was in a better place, just like Hera had said.

I woke with that picture of him still in my head. I thought of the way he'd glowed, like Bianca di Angelo when we'd summoned her on Geryon's ranch. She'd told Nico not to bring her back to life. _'If you love me, don't try,'_ she'd said.

 _Did you think you would only have one choice to make?_ This, too, was a choice.

I had to let Percy go.

'Isn't there a rule against spending the night in a different cabin?'

I looked up and almost screamed. Standing in the centre of the cabin was a giant of a man, with a wild beard full of sparks.

'L-Lord Hephaestus. What are you doing here?'

He'd cleaned up his appearance since I'd seen him at his workshop. He now wore a clean, button-down shirt and jeans without holes or grease stains. It looked as if he'd just gone visiting or something. His leg was still in the walking brace, but the straps were neatly tucked in. He was leaning on a metal cane.

'Promised you an answer, didn't I?'

'Um, yes, but I thought … it's been two weeks. I didn't think you'd …' In all honesty, I'd written him off completely. 'I didn't think you'd come in person.'

'Had a bunch of situations to take care of,' Hephaestus said gruffly. 'Took me a while.'

'Situations?'

'I take it you didn't find the inventor after all?'

My stomach twisted. 'He wasn't here.'

'He most certainly isn't _now._ '

'No, he wasn't at all. You told me to come back to camp, but I found nothing!'

'My intel was sound,' he said. 'Ain't my fault you didn't make use of it.'

I sprung to my feet. This was Hera and her false offer of help all over again. 'It's not fair—you promised to give us information on Daedalus. We did your favour. Percy even—' My voice faltered. I stamped my foot. 'You're just like Hera!'

Hephaestus's eyes glittered. For a second, I thought I might be in danger of getting blasted. Part of me even relished it. I would have deserved it. Maybe I'd even see Percy again.

Then Hephaestus scratched his beard. 'I don't think you meant that? I can never tell, with mortals. You always let your emotions speak for you. I can't even figure out which ones you're experiencing. Machines are so much easier.' He sighed. 'I came to tell you this, girl. Your quest is not complete.'

'What do you mean?'

'Prepare yourself,' he said.

'Prepare—prepare for what?'

Hephaestus started to glow. So desperate was I for answers that I didn't immediately look away. But he didn't take his true form. He burst into a column of flame that drifted out the window, fortunately without catching the cabin alight.

The funeral took place after breakfast the next morning. I couldn't eat a single bite. My stomach was tight as a drum. After Hephaestus had gone, I'd remained on Percy's bunk, trying to string words together for his eulogy. Chiron had come to find me at last. He'd shaken his head upon finding me in cabin three, but he hadn't reprimanded me.

We set up the campfire in the amphitheatre. Chiron lit the pyre. It took a while before a black flame rose. With the mood so low, there was no magic to help it along.

When the campfire finally spread across the pit, Chiron banged his hoof against the ceremonial stones at the edge—once, twice, all the way to twelve times, the sacred number of the Olympians. There was a hush around the amphitheatre. No one had been talking, but now even the crackle and pop of the fire was barely audible.

'We gather to honour a fallen hero, a beloved friend who was an example to us all. Although we hoped that the Fates would bring better news, at this time we can only assume he is dead. After so long a silence, it is unlikely our prayers will be answered.' Chiron turned and nodded to me. 'I have asked his best surviving friend to do the final honours.'

I walked forward, Percy's shroud in my hands. When I threw it onto the fire, it was as if my heart was burning up alongside it.

A salty breeze swept through the air, the sea paying tribute to its own. I turned away from the fire, to the campers who sat watching, holding a collective breath. My throat was dry and sticky.

'Percy is …' I swallowed and started again. 'He was probably the bravest friend I've ever had.' The past tense tasted like ashes in my mouth. 'He …'

My voice died. Someone was walking up from the back of the amphitheatre. Surely I was seeing things. Maybe I was dreaming. Maybe my grief had driven me to hallucination. Maybe he was a ghost.

But he was completely solid. And I was pretty sure if my mind were to conjure up an image of Percy now, he wouldn't have such an infuriating, lopsided smirk, like he was walking in on the funniest joke he'd ever heard.

 _Prepare yourself,_ Hephaestus had said.

After two weeks, Percy had returned.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

 **A/N** : This chapter was original drafted as part of another one, but the cut point just works better here, with the additional Aphrodite dream that wasn't in the first draft. So sorry about the 'cliffy', but seriously, I think the original canon missed an excellent chapter title chance and chapter cliffhanger with Percy's funeral-crashing. So I've picked it right up. ;)

In case you're wondering, the timeline of these two chapters was worked out very carefully in accordance with canon. Points if you can place when and why certain events took place!

Also, I promise I'm not poking fun at any of you with Aphrodite's writing comments. You guys are awesome. The fandom reference was just too good to pass up, though!

Thanks as always to my awesome reviewers this past week— **Hello, ArtimuosJackson, thatoneguy, MariaClaire** , and **Numberfivewithabullet**. I'm _finally_ caught up with replies back to chapter 16 (I know, I built up a backlog), just in time for Christmas, heh heh. I'm really grateful for you guys following me along for yet another year, and feeling bad that I didn't offer up anything this year. So I'm just saying, _maybe_ there'll be a little some extra on Christmas ... ;)


	20. Percy Reveals Plan B

**A/N** : I did say a Christmas 'surprise' was on its way, right? Hopefully this one is something to sink your teeth into. Happy Christmas, dear readers!

Chapter 20: Percy Reveals Plan B

The amphitheatre, so quiet only a moment ago, burst into cheers and applause. The flames in the campfire pit shot to the height of a two-storey building and turned a brilliant golden-orange. The ghost of Percy's shroud flickered in it for a moment, then it was consumed entirely, pointless now. Percy himself was engulfed in a wave of excited campers, all patting him on the back and screaming themselves hoarse, like he'd won a humongous prize.

It was a minute before I remembered I had legs. As I walked forward into the throng, my heart did a million somersaults in quick succession. _Percy, Percy, Percy,_ it sang. My pace quickened until I was running, eager to close the distance between us, not even noticing the kids I pushed out of my way.

'Where have you _been?_ ' I cried.

Percy's eyes twinkled, the colour of the shroud I'd painstakingly woven. My heart was bursting with relief, with happiness, with hope, with a thousand different emotions I couldn't even begin to name.

I flung my arms around him. He was warm and solid, and if I'd had any doubt before as to whether I'd imagined him, it was swept away now. I didn't even care if this was just another twist in Aphrodite's stupid plot. I'd watched him burn up in a volcano but here he was, as whole and healthy and perfect as he'd been in my dream—no, _more_ perfect, because he was real. He was here.

So was the entire camp. Everyone was watching us with silent, avid eyes, like we were a real soap drama.

I released Percy immediately. He gave me a hopeful smile. I'd thought I'd never see that single dimple ever again.

'I—we thought you were dead, Seaweed Brain!'

He winced. 'I'm sorry. I got lost.'

' _Lost?_ ' The word was a pitiful Band-Aid for the rollercoaster of terror and hopelessness and grief I'd ridden over the past two weeks. Amidst the relief bubbling up inside me, a seed of anger sprouted. 'Two weeks, Percy! Where in the world did you—'

Chiron cut me off. 'Annabeth, perhaps we should discuss this somewhere more private, shall we?' He grabbed the back of my shirt. The next thing I knew, he'd swung Percy and me onto his back. 'The rest of you, back to your normal activities!'

The campers groaned, like they'd been cheated out of a particularly exciting ending to a movie, but Chiron didn't give them room to protest. He took off, carrying Percy and me towards the Big House.

'Now, Percy,' Chiron said when he'd set us down in his study, 'I'm sure you have a story for us.'

Percy glanced nervously at me, almost as if he were afraid of my reaction to what he had to say.

'I already told him everything … up to the volcano,' I said.

Percy nodded. 'I got cornered by the telkhines,' he admitted. 'They threw lava at me. I was burning up, but … I don't really know what happened, or how I did it, but I summoned water right out of the volcano. And then I made it erupt. I didn't even mean to. It just happened.' He looked at us pleadingly, begging us to understand.

'I know you didn't,' Chiron said gently. 'Go on. What happened then?'

'I, um, landed on an island.'

My eyebrows furrowed, thinking of the white beach I'd dreamt of. Percy paused for a second. For some reason, he wouldn't meet my eyes.

'I got marooned there for a while. Then Hephaestus came and found me and told me I could leave. He sent me a magic raft. I got on it and it just sailed me back to the beach here. That's when I, er, crashed the party.'

I looked at him closely. Anyone else wouldn't have noticed, but he was moistening his lips and clenching his fist the way he did when they got too sweaty. I'd known him long enough to know there was something he wasn't telling us.

Marooned on a desert island. A place totally out of this world. Something I'd heard before drifted through my head— _a phantom island … going home … and if you're good, we could see about some visitors …_ It was accompanied by the image of a lovely, caramel-haired girl.

 _This week, on_ Calypso's Island … _But it finally has a new twist! Another lost hero … will he finally be the one?_

I shook Aphrodite's voice away. Wherever Percy had been, he was back now.

'You've been gone two weeks,' I said. Should I tell him about the ice cave I'd opened in Mount St Helens? Chiron and Hephaestus had been right. The eruption hadn't been from some chemical reaction between the glacier and the lava. Percy had drawn on the water supply and blown up the place. The amount of power it must have taken … it was insane. Like a god's power. I remembered the whirlwind, the storm of ice and fire before I'd toppled into the bronze cauldron. 'When I heard the explosion, I thought—'

'I know, I'm sorry,' Percy said. 'But I figured how to get through the Labyrinth. I talked to Hephaestus.'

His abrupt change of subject took my mind right off the volcanic explosion.

 _Your quest is not complete._ 'He told you the answer?' Jealousy pricked at my skin. All _I'd_ gotten were false leads and cryptic clues.

'Well, he sort of told me that I already knew,' Percy said. 'And I do. I understand now.' He ran a hand through his hair. 'We don't need Ariadne's string.'

'But—'

'We need a guide. Hephaestus said the string works, but the best way through the maze was with a a regular mortal with clear sight. Hera was right—I do know someone who can get us through: Rachel Elizabeth Dare.'

I stared at him. 'Percy, that's crazy!'

'There is a precedent, however,' Chiron said thoughtfully. 'Theseus had the help of Ariadne. Harriet Tubman, daughter of Hermes, used many mortals on her Underground Railroad for just this reason.'

'But …' The seed of anger swirled into a cloud in my chest, like all the conflicting emotions this day had put me through had decided to erupt into a storm. There was a logic to what Percy and Chiron were saying. I remembered how Ariadne had run through the maze, barely consulting her string. But to relinquish my quest to some mortal girl …

'This is _my_ quest,' I said finally. ' _I_ need to lead it.'

'My dear, it is your quest,' Chiron agreed. 'But you need help.'

Of course I needed help. But I _had_ help. I had Percy, and Grover, and Tyson … I gulped. No, I didn't have Grover and Tyson any more. And I had Percy back, but the first thing he'd suggested was to go and find some mortal girl and invite her along, like this was some casual trip to the beach. It seemed like a million years since this girl, this _Rachel,_ had ruined our movie date, but I could still see her grinning at Percy with her perky prettiness, scribbling her number on his hand …

How could he think of her at a time like this? How could Chiron think it was a good idea?

I looked pleadingly at Chiron. ' _This_ is supposed to help? Please! It's wrong. It's … cowardly. It's—' I hated that I was already running out of arguments.

'Hard to admit we need a mortal's help.' Percy had that infuriating smirk on his face again. 'But it's true.'

I wanted to stamp my foot into the carpet. It wasn't _about_ mortals. Of course I knew mortals could be helpful. My dad was a mortal, and he'd saved us on Mount Tam. But that was different. He was special. He was a mortal who'd caught Athena's eye. He had her favour. This girl was just …

 _Someone who caught Percy's eye?_

Something shrivelled up inside me. Two weeks of utter despair while Percy luxuriated on an island paradise with a beautiful immortal, and now this? He hadn't even acknowledged our … my …

'You,' I fumed, 'are the single most _annoying_ person I have ever met!'

And before I could burst into tears, I left the room, slamming the door behind me.

OoOoO

After two weeks praying for Percy's safe return, you'd think I'd be over the moon at his return. Don't get me wrong, I _was_ happy that he was all right, and even more relieved that he'd managed to resuscitate my quest. But it was all mixed together with a spoonful of bitterness and a larger cup of confusion.

Stupid Fates. Stupid Aphrodite.

Silena couldn't understand why I was so grumpy. 'Isn't it romantic?' she sighed. 'It's like he came back from the dead, just for you!'

I muttered something about preparing to return to my quest tomorrow and stalked off to my cabin so I wouldn't punch her in the face. Before I entered, I threw an irritated glance across the green at cabin three.

Romantic, my ass. Percy had said nothing about our kiss. It was like it had never happened. Had I totally imagined him kissing me back in the heart of the volcano?

I couldn't help wondering what had passed on that island of his. Sure, he'd come back, but it definitely didn't seem like I'd been a motivation. It was camp he was all fired up to save. The mortal girl he was dying to find.

Maybe I'd been deluding myself all along. Maybe Percy had never really thought about me that way. Maybe it was _Rachel_ he'd returned for.

All the tears I'd wept on his behalf seemed so empty and meaningless now.

Then I felt a prickle of guilt. If Grover and Tyson had been the ones to return, if they'd found a way to further my quest, I wouldn't be getting mad at them. It wasn't fair for me to take it out on Percy for not returning my feelings.

The important thing was that we still had a chance to find Daedalus. By this time tomorrow, we'd be back in the Labyrinth.

I dreamt of Percy's island again that night, only this time I saw the beautiful Calypso stranded alone on it, as she had been for thousands of years. She stood in the middle of a garden, tending a bed of glowing silver flowers under the light of the full moon. When she touched the petals, a shimmery image danced above them—the face of a handsome, rugged man. Calypso gazed at it for a minute before moving on to the next. Another flower, another face. At the end of the flowerbed, the smallest of the plants was just beginning to bloom. When she touched its petal, Percy's face appeared.

Calypso's expression was soft and wistful. She reached out to stroke Percy's cheek, but when her fingers touched the image, it dissolved into moonlight.

I should have been angry, but a sad camaraderie washed over me instead. She had loved and lost him, too.

The moonlight danced across the garden. Then the dream shifted, turning darker, more sinister. I was deep in the marble corridors of the Labyrinth, the sky a dark, narrow sliver overhead. Theseus followed half a pace behind me. In his hands was the bronze compass I had given him, with the unravelling ball of fine thread around it. Ariadne's string.

'I don't get it,' Theseus said. 'How is this going to help my friends tomorrow?'

'We have to find him,' I said.

'Who, the inventor?'

'No, my—' A deep, menacing growl came from within the walls. I took a deep breath. 'Come on.'

I grabbed Theseus's arm and tugged him along, plunging deeper into the shadowy recesses of the maze. We came to a fork in the tunnels.

From the left fork came a loud, savage roar—the bellow of an angry beast. The sound was just like the maze—something that should have been familiar, a friend, but no longer was. I looked between the tunnels. Somehow, I knew without consulting the string that the right tunnel, the one with no scary noises, would loop back to the exit. The left led to the heart of the maze, where the monster resided.

'This way,' I said, and took the left fork.

Several paces in, I turned back. Theseus hadn't followed me. He was still standing at the fork, looking uncertainly at my chosen path. With his head swivelling back and forth between the tunnels, he almost resembled Janus.

'Are you sure, Princess?' he asked.

For a moment, I faltered. Then I set my jaw.

'We're going to save him,' I insisted, and forged ahead. This time, Theseus followed.

It wasn't long before we found him. The tunnel opened into a circular arena, like a gladiator stadium with rows of spectator seats raised in incremental levels all around. I couldn't imagine why it had been constructed. Who would come into the Labyrinth to watch a fight?

The floor of the arena was littered with bones—human bones. No complete skeletons remained, but the skulls and rib cages were unmistakable. Some of them were cracked or split down the middle. Others were crushed so that the splintered pieces lay in a scatter of greyish dust. The few skulls that were wholly intact fixed their empty eye sockets on me, imploring me to leave while I still had the chance.

There came the loudest roar of all, one that shook the walls of the arena. Theseus clapped his hands over his ears.

A panel slid back from the base of the stands. Out it came: the monster of the Labyrinth.

He looked just like an ordinary bull at first, crawling out of the hidden door on all fours. Massive horns bulged out of either side of his monstrous head, ending in javelin-sharp points. Blood dripped from his mouth, along with a scrap of food that I suspected was human flesh. Only when he straightened could I see his human body. He'd grown into an incredible, muscular hulk of a man, at least seven feet tall. His arms and legs were thicker than tree trunks. He could have crushed me into dust with his pinky finger alone. He wore nothing but a white loincloth, stained with the blood of his prey.

He hadn't kept his promise. But then, neither had I—Ariadne. I, she, hadn't returned for so long.

He advanced on his trunk-like legs and for a moment, my courage failed me.

Then the Minotaur locked eyes with me. Something seemed to dawn in his expression: confusion, or maybe even recognition. My racing heart slowed. I could see the shade of the affectionate, lowing neighbour in the stables. The man-calf he'd once been before King Minos had thrown him in here to fight for his life against every murderer, every criminal, every tribute. None of them had realised that the first prisoner to be sentenced to the Labyrinth had been an innocent creature who hadn't deserved to be turned into the king's executioner.

Theseus was the first to regain his senses. He drew his sword.

'Princess, run!'

The spell broke. My brother—the Minotaur—turned to Theseus. Blood raged in his eyes when he saw the gleaming bronze blade in Theseus's hands. He bellowed a war cry and charged, no longer my friend but the bloodthirsty monster Minos had trained him to become.

Theseus pushed me out of the way and met the monster's first charge with his sword. The Minotaur swung his head. His horn met the flat of Theseus's blade. Theseus barely managed to hold on to his sword. The Minotaur grabbed him and launched him across the arena. He landed on one of the dusty rib cages, smashing it into a million vertebrae. He struggled to get up, to crawl towards his sword.

Meanwhile, the Minotaur advanced towards me, his bull's face menacing. There wasn't a trace of kindness in his expression now. I was just another mortal he had to fight. Another prey.

'Ariadne, run!' Theseus found his footing, grabbed his sword, and came in for another swing. The Minotaur turned just as he slashed upwards. The blade sliced off the Minotaur's left horn.

With an ear-splitting bellow, the Minotaur backhanded Theseus so hard, the sword flew clean out of his hands. It sailed across the arena and pierced one of the skulls straight through the mouth.

Blood poured from the Minotaur's injured stump, but this didn't seem to weaken him. He seized Theseus around the neck and squeezed. Theseus's face went purple.

Tears blurred my vision. I'd led Theseus here, hoping we could rescue my brother, but there seemed to be no saving him from what he'd already become.

But I could try to save Theseus.

He was still grappling with the Minotaur, trying to free himself from the Minotaur's grip. He wouldn't hold out for long. The Minotaur was too strong, too powerful. Theseus looked like a twig in his beefy hands.

A ghostly shade appeared before the two of them, with twin faces looking in opposite directions: one at the Minotaur, the other at Theseus.

' _Which will it be?_ ' said Janus.

'Asterion!' I cried out. 'You promised!'

The Minotaur faltered. His fingers twitched. Theseus tore himself out of his grasp, landing on the ground next to the severed horn.

Asterion turned wide, calf-like eyes on me.

'No!' I screamed, but it was too late. Theseus had snatched up the horn and plunged it into Asterion's chest, straight into his heart.

The shade of Janus laughed wickedly.

I woke with a start. There was a strange glow in my cabin, a multi-coloured light at the foot of my bed. Someone was calling my name. A strange voice that was slightly familiar, as if I'd only heard it a few times before.

'Annabeth Chase!'

I sat bolt upright. Before me was a holographic rainbow image. Shimmering in it was the ranchhand from Geryon's ranch, Eurytion.

'What's going on?' I couldn't fathom why Eurytion, of all people, was calling me. 'Is—is it Grover and Tyson?'

Eurytion shook his head. 'It's the kid—Nico di Angelo. He's missing.'

'What?' With everything that had happened since we left the ranch, I'd barely spared Nico a second thought.

'I think he's back in that maze of yours. I woke up an hour ago, feeling like something was off, and he was gone. Took Orthus to see if we could track him down, but the scent ended at the cattle grid. You know the one.'

'Oh no.' This was just what we needed. Another friend—however loosely that term applied to Nico—wandering the Labyrinth.

'He's been talking to himself the past few nights,' Eurytion said. 'Thought it was just dreams or something, but now that I think about it, it might've been that crazy ghost that came at the old pit.'

'Minos?' I shivered, thinking of Nico curled up in Eurytion's living room, crying over his sister. How had Minos enticed him back into the Labyrinth? I hated to think what lies he must have fed Nico. And worse … was Nico still mad at Percy?

'I'm sorry,' Eurytion said. 'I should've kept a better eye on the kid. I promised to keep him safe.'

'It's not your fault. We—we'll find him.' I didn't know if we could. We already had Grover and Tyson to look out for, not to mention we needed to get to Daedalus, _fast._ But if Percy's plan worked …

I thanked Eurytion for calling me and cut the connection. But after that little bombshell, there was no getting back to sleep. I got out my sketchbook and doodled building designs by the light of my dagger until the sun came up.

OoOoO

Argus drove Percy and me into Manhattan, to his mom's place on the Upper East Side. On the way, I told him about Eurytion's message. In return, he delivered even worse news. He'd dreamt of Luke, who was back in the Labyrinth, looking for some arena. They'd found a lone half-blood wandering in the maze.

I pressed two beads on my necklace together so tightly that my fingers hurt. This quest was just like the impossible maze. Every time I thought I might be closer to our goal, something threw us back five steps.

Sally Jackson fed us her famous blue chocolate chip cookies while we told her all about our quest. I wasn't all that hungry, but I defy anyone to taste those things and not scarf down half the plate.

'So you wrecked Alcatraz Island, made Mount St Helens explode and displaced half a million people,' Sally said when Percy finished talking. (I noticed he left out all the details about the island he'd landed on, which made me feel a bit better.) I was prepared to pacify her, but Sally just shook her head and went, 'But at least you're safe.'

'Yep, that pretty much covers it,' Percy said with a grin. I remembered why I'd always been a bit jealous of him. His mom was so _cool._

'I wish Paul were here,' she sighed. 'He wanted to talk to you.'

Percy and I exchanged a puzzled glance. Then he slapped his forehead. 'Oh, right. The school. What did you tell him?'

I fiddled with my necklace. This conversation was obviously something between the two of them. From what I could gather, Sally's boyfriend had gotten Percy admitted to his high school for next year—a high school Percy had managed to blow up a few weeks ago. Sally hadn't figured out how to explain that to her boyfriend yet.

I didn't even want to imagine how Janet would have flared up if I'd been in that situation. For the moment, I forgot how angry I'd been with Percy. I wanted to take his hand and reassure him that it would be okay.

Then Sally asked, 'What happens now?'

My irritation came flooding back. 'Percy has this _plan._ '

'Er, yeah.' He sounded a lot less enthusiastic than when he'd outlined the plan to me and Chiron. Was he nervous about the reception he'd get from Rachel, after hearing his mom's worries about her boyfriend's reaction to the mythological stuff?

That didn't make me feel any better.

'It sounds very dangerous,' Sally said. 'But it might work.'

Percy looked like he'd just had a brainwave. 'You have the same abilities, don't you? You can see through the Mist.'

'Not so much now,' Sally said, dashing my brief hope that she could guide us instead. 'When I was younger it was easier. But yes, I've always been able to see more than was good for me. It's one of the things that caught your father's attention, when we first met.'

The cookie I was holding crumbled between my fingers. I really didn't want to think about mortals catching the eye of gods right now.

Sally smiled. I got the sense she knew what I was thinking, as if she could see into my head the way she saw through the Mist. 'Just be careful. Promise me you'll be safe.'

'We'll try, Ms Jackson,' I said tightly. 'Keeping your son safe is a big job, though.' I glanced at Percy, then looked determinedly out of the window. Maybe in a few hours, that would be _Rachel's_ job.

'What's going on with you two?' Sally asked. 'Have you been fighting?'

I kept my mouth shut. Percy could explain to his mom if he wanted to.

'I see.' Sally pursed her lips. 'Well, remember, Grover and Tyson are counting on you two.'

'I know,' we chorused. I glared at him.

Sally sent Percy off to call Rachel using the hall phone. I stayed at the kitchen table, breaking the remaining cookies in half one by one until Sally put her hand on my arm.

'Remember what I said when you and Chiron called me?'

I screwed up my face. 'That Percy wasn't dead?'

Sally laughed. 'Yes, but I meant not to give up on him.'

'Well, you were right. He came back.'

'Percy's always found it hard to leave the people he loves. Trust me, I know.'

'We're just friends,' I said stupidly.

'Oh, honey.' Sally brushed a few strands of hair from my face and tucked them gently behind my ear. 'Don't give up on him.'

My spirits started to lift, but then Percy came back. The bright grin on his face wiped the smile off mine.

'We're meeting her in Times Square,' he said. 'We'd better go.'

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

 **A/N** : Story note—the bit Annabeth heard before about Calypso comes from my earlier story, **Necklace of Harmonia**.

I'm sorry that I've not been able to do request fics at all this year; the only fandom thing I've been able to keep up with is this story and chapter-by-chapter updates. Hopefully getting this chapter out for Christmas will make up for that a little bit. I do want to say a huge thank you for those of you who have kept up faithfully with this fic and keep throwing me lines of encouragement to keep going. For all your attention to detail, and insightful comments, and excited squeals ... I can only say you guys are wonderful, and make sharing this a fantastic experience. I won't do the individual shout-outs this chapter (as I know many of you probably won't have had the chance to read chapter 19 yet anyway, given the short time between Saturday and today) but I've got to replies individually, either by PM or on the forum ... in a timely fashion for once!

Thanks for reading, and look out for next chapter on Saturday as usual!


	21. Percy Plays Gladiator

**A/N** : This chapter is rated PG-13/T for gladiator fighting.

Chapter 21: Percy Plays Gladiator

Rachel Elizabeth Dare was golden. I mean, literally. She was painted up as a statue outside the Marriott Marquis, motionless behind a sign that said, _urban art for kids, donations appreciated._

So she was an artist. That felt like a stab in the gut, too.

We waited for her to notice us, but even when I waved my hand in front of her face, she didn't move. It was like she'd really been turned to gold, the way King Midas had transformed his daughter in the old myth. How were we supposed to get her attention?

'Maybe if we push her over,' I mused.

Percy shot me a pained look, like he wished I'd play nice. I resisted the urge to stick my tongue out at him. If Rachel heard us, she didn't show it.

A few more minutes ticked by, during which I counted the scattered pennies on the tarp in front of her (she'd made fifteen bucks in spare change), tapped out the rhythm of _This Land Is Minos's Land_ against my thigh, and mentally remodelled the Marriott Marquis. The waiting was driving me crazy.

Finally, another kid, this one painted silver, stepped up to Rachel and struck a pose, freezing in position like her. Rachel stepped off the tarp and favoured Percy with a grin as bright as her painted skin.

I scowled.

We popped into a coffee shop to talk. I was about to order black coffee, but Rachel got an espresso, so I got fruit smoothies for me and Percy instead. He didn't comment. I wasn't sure he even registered my presence any more. He couldn't seem to take his eyes off Rachel's golden skin.

When we had our drinks and a table, Rachel gave me a quick once-over. I couldn't tell if she remembered me, until she said, 'So, it's Annabelle, right?'

I ground my teeth together. 'Anna _beth._ '

Rachel shrugged, like, _whatever._

'Do you always dress in gold?' I snapped. My resolution to play nice crashed and burned before I could even start.

'Not usually.' Her voice grated on me. It was high and chirpy, and way too fast, like she was a freight train on a deadline. She explained her fundraising project. 'We do volunteer art projects for elementary kids 'cause they're cutting art from the schools, you know?'

The annoying thing was, I actually liked what she was saying. It was the kind of thing my mother would have approved of.

'But I'm guessing you don't want to talk about that,' Rachel said. 'You're a half-blood, too?'

My eyes widened. 'Shhh! Just announce it to the world, how about?'

To my horror, Rachel took me literally. She got to her feet and practically bellowed, 'Hey, everybody! These two aren't human! They're half Greek god!'

None of the mortals even glanced up, but I scanned the shop warily. You could never be too careful. I'd been attacked in way too many shops.

Rachel smirked as she sat back down. 'They don't seem to care.'

'That's not funny. This isn't a joke, mortal girl.'

Percy held up his hands. 'Hold it, you two. Just calm down.'

'I'm calm,' Rachel said airily. 'Every time I'm around you, some monster attacks us. What's to be nervous about?'

She even shared Percy's sarcastic humour.

'Look, I'm sorry about the band room,' Percy said. 'I hope they didn't kick you out or anything.'

'Nah. They asked me a lot of questions about you. I played dumb.'

'Was it hard?' I shot, before I could stop myself.

Percy slammed his smoothie down so hard, the liquid sloshed out onto the table. 'Okay, stop! Rachel, we've got a problem. And we need your help.'

Rachel glared at me, like she'd finally gotten the message that I didn't like her. ' _You_ need my help?'

I had to drag the words out of my mouth. It was like pulling teeth. 'Yeah. Maybe.'

'Do you know about Daedalus's Labyrinth?' Percy said quickly.

'Like the myth?'

'Yeah, so, like I told you at Goode, all the Greek stuff is in America now, and we're on this quest to find Daedalus in his Labyrinth. We need to get to him before this other guy, Luke, does. The problem is, every time we go in, we get lost. We've been to all sorts of weird places, just not where we need to go.'

He told her about Alcatraz, and the ranch, and Hephaestus's workshop, but left out Mount St Helens. I wasn't sure how to feel about that. 'But we realised what we need is someone who can see through the Mist—you know, the stuff that makes the weird things you can see normal for everyone else.'

'So you want me to guide you. Through a place I've never been.'

'You can see through the Mist, just like Ariadne,' Percy said. 'I'm betting you can see the right path. The Labyrinth won't be able to fool you as easily.'

Rachel considered this. 'And if you're wrong?'

'Then we'll get lost. Either way, it'll be dangerous. Very, very dangerous.'

'I could die?'

I guess she wasn't stupid after all.

Percy winced. 'Yeah.' But he looked at her like he hoped she'd agree anyway.

'I thought you said monsters don't care about mortals,' Rachel said cautiously. 'That sword of yours—'

'Yeah, celestial bronze doesn't hurt mortals,' Percy clarified. 'Most monsters would ignore you. But Luke … he doesn't care. He'll use mortals, demigods, monsters, whatever. And he'll kill anyone who gets in his way.'

'Nice guy,' Rachel said.

I bristled. It was one thing when Percy slammed Luke. He'd been personally betrayed by the guy. Rachel didn't even know him. 'He's under the influence of a Titan. He's been deceived.'

Rachel stared at me. It was weird when she blinked, like watching a golden statue move. Part of me—okay, almost all of me—hoped she'd refuse. I had to remind myself that we needed her help. Then she looked at Percy. 'Okay, I'm in.'

I wasn't sure she understood the gravity of the situation. She treated it like some lighthearted adventure, an escape from summer holiday boredom. But she'd agreed.

'So what do I look for?' Rachel asked.

'We have to find an entrance to the Labyrinth,' I told her. 'There's an entrance at Camp Half-Blood, but you can't go there. It's off-limits to mortals.'

'Okay. What does an entrance to the Labyrinth look like?'

I explained that it could be anything, as long as it had the mark of Daedalus on it. 'A Greek _Delta,_ glowing in blue,' I added.

'Like this?' Rachel traced Daedalus's mark in the puddle of Percy's spilt smoothie.

'That's it. You know Greek?' This came as a surprise, and also an annoying jab. Was there anything this girl couldn't do?

To my relief, Rachel said, 'No. Let me get changed. You'd better come with me to the Marriott.'

'Why?'

'Because there's an entrance like that in the hotel basement, where we store our costumes. It's got the mark of Daedalus.'

I wondered if the entrance Rachel had noticed was the one Clarisse had popped out of last year, until we saw it. The metal door was old and stiff and looked like it had been bolted shut for a thousand years. Just how many entrances were there in Manhattan? We'd assumed there would be one per city, but there could be dozens.

'I tried to open it once, just out of curiosity,' Rachel said. 'It's rusted shut.'

I felt a prick of pleasure. Here was something I could do that Rachel couldn't. 'No, it just needs the touch of a half-blood.'

I activated the entrance. Rachel peered into it. The flecks of glitter in her hair shone in the glow of Daedalus's mark.

'Wow,' she said. 'So … after you?'

'You're the guide,' I said. 'Lead on.'

Rachel led the way down a flight of stairs into a brick tunnel. When we turned on our flashlights at he bottom, Percy clutched at my arm. I saw immediately what had terrified him. The skeleton was Tyson's size, with only one hollow eye socket. It had been strung up against the wall like a warning: _X—DO NOT ENTER._

Rachel backed up, treading heavily on my toe.

'It's just a Cyclops,' I told her, shoving her off my foot. To Percy, I said, 'It's very old. It's not … anybody we know.'

Percy nodded and released my arm.

'You have a friend who's a Cyclops?' Rachel no longer sounded like this was all some big joke.

Percy explained about his monster family connections. Rachel's voice got smaller with every question he answered.

 _Good,_ I thought vindictively, _maybe that'll scare her off._ Then I berated myself. We didn't _want_ her to get scared off. We needed her help.

Rachel's first test came at a crossroads fifty feet later. A marble tunnel led off to the right, while an earthen passage crawled left.

'That looks like the tunnel Tyson and Grover took,' Percy said hopefully.

'Yeah, but the architecture to the right—' I reminded him that we needed to find Daedalus's workshop first.

'We need to go straight,' Rachel said.

Her choice made no logical sense. It was just red brick straight ahead. I stared at her doubtfully. Had we made a stupid mistake bringing her down here?

'You don't see it? Look at the floor.'

I saw nothing. The walls were the only clue. And they clearly pointed right.

'There's a brightness there, very faint. But forward is the correct way.' Rachel described a whole bunch of traps to the left and right, in so much detail that I was sure she was just making it up. There was no way she could actually see all of that.

'Okay, forward,' Percy said.

'You believe her?'

'Yeah, don't you?'

It was preposterous. Imaginary lights and weird traps only a mortal could see. The traps _fit_ the kind of thing the Labyrinth would have, but still …

I sighed and waved Rachel on.

The path ahead was winding but direct, with no offshoots or crossroads or traps. It dipped downwards, which made me uneasy. Our route to Mount St Helens had been a descent as well. Rachel walked several paces ahead of us, with Percy right behind and me bringing up the rear. She seemed so confident of the way, just like Ariadne had been.

Unlike how I'd been when I'd tried to lead my friends through.

It was so wrong. How could a mortal get the ability to see this clearly? How had Ariadne come by it? She wasn't a demigod, but her parents had both been. Was that the trick? Maybe Rachel had some demigod ancestry in her heritage that she didn't know about.

I tried to keep my voice civil. 'So, Rachel, where are you from, exactly?'

Rachel glanced over her shoulder. 'Brooklyn.'

'Aren't your parents going to be worried if you're out late?'

I meant to work round slowly to a question about her lineage, but her answer took me by surprise.

'Not likely. I could be gone a week and they'd _never_ notice.'

'Why not?' Despite my irritation, I found myself actually curious about her answer.

'Well, my dad—'

A loud creak up ahead cut her off.

'What was that?' I said sharply.

'I don't know.' Her ability to 'see' invisible stuff seemed to have fled her. 'Metal hinges.'

I rolled my eyes. 'Oh, that's very helpful. I mean, _what is it?_ '

The corridor started to shake. Something was coming our way, with great pounding footsteps louder and bigger than Tyson's, or even Hephaestus's. They sounded as threatening as Kampê.

'Run?' Percy suggested.

'Run!' Rachel squeaked.

And once again, we were dashing for our lives through the maze. We fled backwards through the tunnel, which made our trek this far completely pointless. We should have just taken the right tunnel to begin with. Why had I listened to Rachel?

Then things got ten times worse. A pair of _dracaenae_ marched up the back of the tunnel, led by a perky African-American cheerleader. Her short skirt barely covered her thigh—not that it mattered, because one leg was bronze and the other was covered in fur.

'That's Kelli!' Rachel gasped.

Percy and I drew our weapons, but the _empousa_ was quicker. She went straight for our weak link. Before we could even swing our blades, she had her manicured nails at Rachel's neck.

Kelli cooed at Percy. 'Taking your little mortal pet for a walk?' She ran a long, sharp nail across Rachel's throat. Up close, I could see that they were actually claws, as dangerous as the blade in my hand. 'They're such fragile things. So easy to break.'

I spun around, looking for a way out, only to find that the giant thundering down the other end of the tunnel had caught up to us. He was a Laistrygonian, a northern giant so tall his head scraped the ceiling.

Rachel had led us straight into a trap.

The giant disarmed us in no time. Riptide would reappear eventually in Percy's pocket, but the loss of my dagger gave me a sharp pang in my chest.

Our captors marched us through the tunnel at javelin-point. Past the point where we'd turned to run, the tunnel was curved, with little doors spaced at intervals along one wall. It reminded me of the interior of this massive track and field stadium I'd visited a long time ago with my dad: a circular corridor beneath the stands, with doors for the athletes to enter the playing field. If I listened carefully, I could even hear muffled roars on the other side of the wall, like a crowd at a football match.

We continued forward until we reached the largest doors of all. They were cast in bronze, even taller than the Laistrygonian, and marked by a crest with two swords crossed to form an X.

The giant pushed open the doors. Through it was a dirt floor. A centaur sprinted across my field of vision, chased by a pair of legs—another giant, I guessed. I couldn't see its upper body. It was like being in the bleachers before a game, looking out onto the playing field. Except this field was a gladiator arena.

One of the _dracaenae_ prodded Percy forward. When I tried to follow, the giant grabbed the back of my shirt, lifting me right off the ground.

'Hey!'

Kelli held Rachel back as well. Percy turned to apologise, promising to get her out.

'That would be nice,' Rachel said faintly.

He didn't look at me. It gave me another sharp pang, but I didn't have time to wallow in hurt. Almost as soon as the _dracaenae_ marched him into the arena, the centaur that had dashed by a moment ago crashed to the ground by his feet. Its leg was twisted at a funny angle.

I could hear the crowd's chanting clearly now: 'DEATH! DEATH!'

Percy's _dracaenae_ guard leaned over him, whispering something in his ears. I saw his fists clench. One hand was in his pocket, but either his pen hadn't reappeared, or the _dracaenae_ had just delivered a deadly threat, because he didn't draw his sword.

A massive foot came down over the centaur's chest. I cried out and covered my face. From my new vantage point, I could see the full body of the giant in the arena. I couldn't watch him bring his javelin down.

When I dared to look again, the centaur was gone. His blood seeped into the dirt floor.

The rest of the arena was visible to me now. Spectator seats ringed the stadium, separated from the battle area by a railing of skulls set on pikes. They glared down into the ring from every angle, like evil, grinning cameras. Directly across from our door was a raised dais, a seat of honour where another giant sat like an emperor. A smaller figure was seated next to him, but they were both too far away for me to see their faces properly.

The Laistrygonian seemed to tire of holding me up. He dropped me to the ground next to Rachel. His fingers remained curled threateningly around my collar.

'You're crying,' Rachel said.

I touched my cheeks. They were wet.

Rachel's face was full of sympathy. 'I'm sorry. Did you know him?'

I stared at her blankly. Then I realised she was talking about the fallen centaur. 'No. He just reminded me of someone.'

'A centaur friend?' There was a strange thirst in her voice.

'Chiron,' I said. 'He trained me, and Percy.'

Rachel looked back to the centre of the arena, where Percy was now facing the emperor giant.

'You guys are good fighters, right? I mean, I saw him slice up _this_ one's friend.'

Kelli's claws tightened around Rachel's throat. 'Watch it, mortal girl,' she hissed. 'Where's your school spirit?'

A bellow rose above the cheers of the crowd. 'Good entertainment! But nothing I haven't seen before. What else do you have, Luke, son of Hermes?'

 _Luke._ My heart did a pole vault straight into my throat. I followed the sound of his reply straight to the tiny figure now standing beside the giant.

Did he know I was here, too?

Rachel mouthed the name. Her eyes widened. 'Is that the jerk Percy was talking about? The one who—'

'Shut up!' I snapped. 'You don't even know him!'

Kelli laughed. 'So it's you.' Her grip on Rachel slackened the tiniest bit. 'I wondered why Luke was holding out on me.'

'What? What are you talking about?'

Luke's voice rose above the chatter of the crowd. 'Lord Antaeus, you have been an excellent host!'

Rachel's brow furrowed. 'Did he say "anteaters?"'

'Lord _Antaeus,_ foolish mortal!' Kelli hissed. 'The master of the arena. A son of Poseidon, like your little boyfriend.'

Hostage situation or not, I wasn't going to listen to this. I pulled back my arm to punch Kelli. The Laistrygonian caught me and twisted it behind my back.

'Ow!'

The crowd whooped and jeered. Luke had just introduced Percy.

'A son of Poseidon?' Antaeus boomed. There was intrigue in his voice. 'Then he should fight well! Or die well!'

My insides took a painful dive. Stones flew into the arena from the booing crowd. A sharp burst of red blossomed on Percy's cheek.

'Luke, stop this! Let us go!'

'Annabeth?' I could barely hear his gasp over the agitated crowd. They wanted blood.

'Enough time for females to fight afterwards,' Antaeus shouted. 'First, Percy Jackson!'

The crowd roared in approval. The _dracaenae_ pushed Percy down to his knees before the despicable giant.

Who _was_ Antaeus? I _knew_ this. A son of Poseidon … Percy's dad had plenty of monstrous children, most famously the Cyclops Polyphemus, but this one …

'I am his favourite son!' Antaeus boasted. 'Behold, my temple to the Earthshaker, built from the skulls of all those I've killed in his name! Your skull shall join them!'

 _Earthshaker._ I saw the walls of earth from my prophecy, a dirt tunnel rising up from the floor.

 _Earth._

'Percy! His mother is Gaia! Gai—'

The Laistrygonian's hand smashed into my face so hard, I thought he might have broken my nose. Kelli leaned in. 'One more word, girl, and your mortal pet gets it.'

I couldn't speak anyway. I could barely breathe. The Laistrygonian's hand smelt like he'd been washing it in pig slop for years.

I could only hope Percy had gotten the hint. Antaeus was the offspring of Gaia and Poseidon (and no, I didn't want to think about how Percy's dad had essentially had an affair with his own grandmother). It meant that he had the power of earth _and_ water. If we were going to defeat him, we needed to draw on some other element … air, or fire.

I wished so hard that Tyson were here right now.

From the other side of the arena, under Antaeus and Luke, metal gates clanged open. Percy's first challenger, a _dracaenae_ , emerged. She wasn't even remotely a match for him. The fight was over in less than a minute.

Antaeus and the crowd howled in outrage, though from what the giant was screaming, it was the speed of the battle rather than the outcome that annoyed him.

Luke steepled his fingers under his chin. 'Nice job, Percy. You've got better with the sword, I'll grant you that.' His words were calm, but I thought I detected a tremor in his voice.

Percy wiped a smear of blood from his cheek and glared at Luke. He looked like he was imagining running Riptide through Luke's chest. This time, I couldn't really blame him, but the visual made me shudder.

The arena looked too much like the Minotaur's arena in my dreams.

 _I knew a girl like you once. She had a choice to make, too._

The next opponent to emerge from the gates was human. He was just a teenager, thin and lanky like Theseus. An eye patch ran diagonally across his face.

Percy seemed dumbfounded. He held his sword loosely in his hand. I saw him conferring with his new opponent, but I couldn't hear their conversation.

Then the kid charged him. Percy's sword came up defensively. The battle began.

The kid was good. Although his eye patch should have been an obvious weakness, he guarded his left so well, Percy couldn't get a hit in. I wondered if he'd been trained by Luke.

They faced off for five minutes that felt like an eternity. The crowd's jeers got louder, demanding blood. Percy's opponent looked up nervously, then intensified his attack.

It wasn't a wise move. Percy was no slouch—he'd been fending off direct attacks with ease since his first week at camp. Riptide hit the hilt of the boy's sword and twisted, a move Luke had once tried to teach all of us. No one but Percy had ever mastered it.

His opponent's sword flew out of his hands. In a thrice, Percy had him flat on the ground, sword-point to chest. The boy looked up. I didn't recognise him, but he could have been one of us—another demigod caught in a monster's trap.

Suddenly, it wasn't the boy with the eye patch I was seeing, but Luke, with Thalia's spear at his throat.

'Don't do it, Percy,' I whispered.

Rachel met my eyes. Hers were wide and scared.

Percy sheathed his sword. He held out his hand to pull the boy to his feet.

'No one dishonours the games!' Antaeus sprung to his feet. Even from this distance, I could see how red his face was. Steam was practically rising off it. 'Your heads shall both be tributes to Poseidon!'

'Why don't you fight me yourself?' Percy challenged. 'If you've got Dad's favour, come down here and prove it!'

What was he doing? Hadn't he gotten my message? He couldn't win against Antaeus, not without Tyson.

Antaeus smacked his chest proudly. 'I am the greatest wrestler in the world, boy. I have been wrestling since the first _pankration!_ '

I remembered something else about Antaeus then. He had his mother's blessing, such that he couldn't be wounded as long as he touched the earth. We were _in_ the earth. How could we possibly defeat Antaeus in his territory?

I wanted to yell at Percy to stop, but the Laistrygonian still had me in his disgusting gag hold. All I could do was shake my head desperately, hoping Percy would see.

Percy forged ahead. Just as he'd done on Geryon's ranch, he laid down a high stakes bet: winner takes all. But this time, he remembered to hold Antaeus to it with an oath on the Styx.

Antaeus swore to it as casually as he would a dinner date. He swung himself over the railing and landed with a thump that shook the ground. Dust billowed up in clouds. When it settled, he and Percy were facing off in the centre of the arena. Eye patch boy scrambled out of their way.

As I'd predicted, Antaeus could not be wounded. Percy fought like a demon, slashing and rolling, lunging and stabbing, but it was no use. Although his blows landed true, every time he cut the giant, sand spilled out from the hole and the earth regurgitated it to heal the wound. Even when Percy stabbed Riptide directly into Antaeus's chest, the giant just yanked the sword out and tossed it away. The earth rose in a column, surrounding Antaeus and repairing him. Percy was flung aside.

'Now you see why I never lose, demigod.' Antaeus raised his arms in victory. Riptide's hilt stuck out of the dirt behind him. 'Come here and let me crush you. I'll make it quick!'

Percy looked at me, desperation in his eyes. I couldn't bear to watch—how could I stand to see him killed _again?_ —but I couldn't look away either.

He gritted his teeth and turned back to the giant. Antaeus had a huge grin on his face as Percy feinted right and left, like this at last was the entertainment he'd been demanding. The crowd roared with laughter. I caught sight of Luke's smirk. In that moment, I hated him almost as much as Percy did.

Then Percy ran straight at Antaeus. My heart skipped a beat, but I noticed something else at the same time: Riptide was no longer buried in the sand behind the giant.

Instead of barrelling into Antaeus, Percy jumped on him. He clambered up the giant's body and took a great leap towards the ceiling. As he disappeared from view, a sound like metal chimes echoed around the arena.

'Come down here, coward!'

'Come up and get me!' Percy shot back. 'Or are you too slow and fat?'

' _Ooh,_ ' went the crowd. A second later, Antaeus hauled himself up. His flabby butt dangled in the air.

Rachel, Kelli, and the Laistrygonian all looked up, but the Laistrygonian's stranglehold kept my head facing down.

'Mmmmphngh!' I shouted against the giant's hand. Fortunately, Rachel understood my desperate need for information.

'There's chains up there and, um—whoa, are those _skulls?_ Percy's swinging on them—he's got Antaeus hooked up. Ha! Take that—oh wow, that's … I could've gone without that visual. Okay, he's _totally_ tangled now.' She sounded really impressed.

I strained to see for myself, but my eyes would only reach the raised dais over the far entrance to the arena, where Luke presided over the match. Our eyes locked. For one long moment, he looked like he had on my doorstep last spring: frightened and desperate. _Please, Annabeth._

Then Antaeus bellowed, 'Get me down!'

Luke looked up. At the same time, Percy landed on the dirt floor, panting.

Luke's face went red. 'Free him! He is our host!'

'I'll free him,' Percy snarled. With a _SHINK,_ Riptide sprung back into action. Percy thrust upwards. Sand rained down over him. This time, the earth didn't respond. Chains creaked overhead.

Luke sprang to his feet. 'Jackson, I should have killed you long ago!'

Percy pointed his sword at him. 'You tried. Let us go, Luke. We had a sworn agreement with Antaeus. I'm the winner.'

The audience whistled and stamped their feet. Luke's face twisted into an ugly, unforgiving expression. I knew even before he said it that he wasn't going to uphold the bargain.

Kelli laughed. Rachel's eyes slid sideways to her, looking murderous. I struggled harder against my captor. The Laistrygonian grunted and twisted my head further back.

'Spare the girl!' Luke called out. He pointed at me. 'I would speak to her before—' His voice wavered, 'before our great triumph.'

He didn't look like he was anticipating victory. He should have been elated that he'd won. Thanks to Percy, he no longer had to contend with Antaeus. But his angry expression dissipated into something jittery. Whatever was about to happen, it frightened him.

What did he want to say to me?

The Laistrygonian released me at Luke's command. I jabbed him with my elbow.

'Oof!'

Percy brought his fingers to his mouth. He had something in it, a silver whistle. He blew hard into it …

And nothing happened. Percy stared at his hands, which were empty and dripping wet.

Kelli tittered. Her claws pressed into Rachel's flesh, eagerly anticipating Luke's command. From the spectator stands, I heard the _SHING_ of a million sharp blades being drawn.

And then all hell broke loose.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

 **A/N** : Thank you to **Numberfivewithabullet, Livvi May, ArtimuosJackson, Thunderwolf7226, Hello, SG2000, thatoneguy, CQ816,** and **MariaClaire** for all your comments in the past week. I know many of you have been looking forward to seeing Rachel return, and I had _so_ much fun with the Annabeth-Rachel interaction this chapter. Do tell me what you think of it!

And in keeping with the holiday spirit ... well, New Year's Day is another great time for a surprise, isn't it? ;)


	22. Our Destination Is On The Right

**A/N:** Happy New Year, my friends! Enjoy the special update! :)

Chapter 22: Our Destination Is On The Right

I should be more specific. It was just one hell that broke loose—one hell _hound,_ to be exact. She ploughed into my Laistrygonian captor from behind, sending him flying into the arena. Then Mrs O'Leary clamped down on Kelli like the _empousa_ was one of the training dummies she enjoyed gnawing to pieces, and flung her across the stadium. Kelli slammed straight into Luke, knocking him back into his seat.

Mrs O'Leary gave me a hopeful look.

'Good dog!' I said faintly.

'Let's go!' Percy yelled.

I didn't waste any more time. My bronze dagger had flown out of the Laistrygonian's hands when Mrs O'Leary mowed him down. I darted into the arena and snatched it up. I was about to run back for the Labyrinth tunnel when Rachel grabbed my arm and tugged me forward instead.

'The far exit! That's the right way!'

There was no time to argue with her. Percy and eye patch boy were already sprinting for the grate under the emperor's podium. Percy found the lever to raise the bars. Mrs O'Leary bounded to his heels in a single leap.

As I crossed the centre of the arena, I got a glimpse of the full Titan army. The monsters packed the spectator stands to the brim. Kelli was still tangled around Luke, but he stared at me with an unreadable expression. Sweat beaded on his forehead. There was something else that made me hesitate, though. Something off about his appearance. Something wrong.

I would have stopped, but Rachel dragged me forward. I passed under the stand, out of Luke's line of sight.

The monster army roared. The ground shook as they leapt the rails in pursuit. I didn't dare look back.

Unlike the tunnel we'd come down, the path ahead was dotted with side passages. Rachel ignored them until we came to one with a metal grate, like a drain cover. She wrenched it away.

'This way!'

The inside looked like a drain, too. It seemed the least likely way to Daedalus. 'Why should we follow you? You led us straight into that death trap!'

'It was the way you needed to go! And so is this. Come on!'

Percy didn't even hesitate. Eye patch boy was already barrelling ahead. Evidently he had no qualms trusting a crazy stranger.

Behind us, the tunnel thundered with the footsteps of the pursuing army. I made a face and dove into the drain hatch after Percy and Rachel. Mrs O'Leary thumped along behind me. I heard her quick, eager breath panting along, then she stopped, gave a little whine, and turned away down the tunnel.

Had she heard something? Gone back to slow the monsters down? How had she even shown up in the maze? The last I'd seen of her, she'd been curled up in a miserable ball in the sword-fighting arena, nipping at everyone who wasn't Quintus.

Quintus was down here, too. It had been four days since he'd disappeared into the entrance at Zeus's Fist. Had he sent Mrs O'Leary? Percy had said Luke was counting on him, but what if Quintus had double-crossed Luke instead?

'Percy—'

'It's okay!' he yelled back. 'Rachel knows what she's doing.'

Rachel pressed forward without hesitation. I couldn't believe how confident she was, after her insane choice had nearly gotten us killed in that arena. Left and right and left and left again … past a deep, foul-smelling ditch, a two-foot crevice we had to leap over, an axe that swung out of nowhere, nearly decapitating us … We ducked and continued running. I heard the unmistakable thud of it slamming into the monsters on our tail.

I couldn't help being mildly impressed by Rachel's stamina. For an untrained mortal, she sure could run. Then I felt pissed off again.

We finally stopped in a room that was a cross between an old-fashioned bank and a training gym. It had marble columns resembling the Chase Manhattan in Brooklyn, but dusty tumbling mats lined the concrete walls. The tunnel behind us was silent. We'd lost our pursuers.

Rachel bent over double, wheezing. I brushed my hair out of my eyes and tried to look like our mad dash through the tunnels hadn't winded me at all.

Eye patch kid sank to the ground, breathing hard. With his heavy armour, our sprint must have been hardest for him. His hair, dark as midnight, was plastered to his sweaty face. He removed his helmet, and I realised I knew him.

'I remember you! You were one of the undetermined kids in Hermes cabin years ago!' It must have been almost five years back … the year of Luke's quest. He'd arrived in the middle of Luke's disgrace and disappeared before the end of summer. I was pretty sure he hadn't had the eye patch then.

The sulky look he cast me hadn't changed. 'Yeah,' he growled, 'and you're Annabeth.'

I was astonished that he remembered. We'd had, maybe, one conversation? I struggled for his name. Edward? No, Ethan. Ethan something.

'What—what happened to your eye?' I asked.

Ethan somehow managed to scowl even harder. He didn't answer.

Percy jumped in. 'You must be the half-blood from my dream—the one Luke's people cornered. It wasn't Nico after all.'

Ethan adjusted his armour. There was a strange symbol on his breastplate, the picture of a curved blade sitting above his heart. 'Who's Nico?' he said disinterestedly.

'Never mind,' I said, before Percy could give Nico away. We didn't know yet why Ethan was wandering in the Labyrinth. I stared at the insignia on his armour and a horrible idea dawned on me. 'Why were you trying to join up with the wrong side?'

Ethan confirmed my suspicions right away. 'There's no right side. The gods never cared about us. Why shouldn't I—'

'Sign up with an army that makes you fight to the death for entertainment?'

Ethan looked away. I snorted. 'Gee, I wonder.'

'I'm not going to argue with you.' Ethan's voice was short and clipped. He got up, ignoring Percy's outstretched hand. 'Thanks for the help, but I'm out of here.'

Percy didn't stop trying. 'We're going after Daedalus. Come with us. Once we get through, you'd be welcome back at camp.'

'You really _are_ crazy if you think Daedalus will help you,' Ethan said, still ignoring Percy's overture.

'He has to! We'll make him listen.' Then I noticed Ethan had said, _if you think Daedalus will help you._ Not, _if you think you can find him._

But Ethan didn't stick around for me to press him for more information. He threw Percy off like he'd offended him, as if we hadn't just rescued him from death by arena. And then he delivered the most chilling line of all: 'You shouldn't have spared me, Jackson. Mercy has no place in this war.'

We watched the back of his armour disappear down the tunnels. It was a long time before his footsteps faded away.

When we turned around, Rachel had dragged one of the tumbling mats over and plopped down on it.

'You okay?' Percy asked.

She nodded glumly.

'I'm really sorry about the arena,' he said.

'Oh, because _you_ were the one who led us into a death trap,' I spat.

Percy looked at me pleadingly. Rachel didn't even look up. She was brushing the last flakes of golden glitter out of her hair with a blue plastic hairbrush. For some reason, this made me even angrier. I put my hands on my hips. 'So what now?'

'I guess we're all tired. Why don't we camp here for the night? Rachel's already found us the mats.'

'Well, good for her.'

Percy sighed and dragged some broken wooden crates over from a corner. I found a match and some crumpled paper in my knapsack and started the fire. In truth, I _was_ exhausted from all the running around, even if I wasn't going to admit it to Percy and Rachel.

For a while, nobody spoke. The firelight flickered over Percy's face, turning the grey streak in his hair pale gold. It struck me then what had been weird about Luke. His hair—it had been all blond again, without the grey that had been threaded through it the last time I'd seen him. He'd lost the matching streak to Percy's and mine.

And although he must have been wandering the Labyrinth for days, he hadn't looked at all tired or bedraggled, like us. Physically, he could have just stepped out of an energising spa. He'd glowed with more perfection than Percy had on Calypso's island. But the way he'd behaved, all jittery, like he was barely keeping everything together …

A thin plank cracked and fell out of the fire. I poked it back in with my knife.

Percy looked at me curiously. I realised I'd been muttering to myself. 'Did you notice the way he was acting?' I asked.

He didn't need me to specify who. 'He looked pretty pleased to me. Like he'd spent a nice day torturing heroes.'

I glared at him. 'That's not true!' He'd obviously been trying to win Antaeus's favour. But there was more to it than that. 'There was something wrong with him,' I insisted. 'He looked … nervous.' And he'd said to spare me. 'He wanted to tell me something.'

 _I just want five minutes to talk._ My blade seemed to burn with my desperate curiosity. What had Luke wanted to say to me?

Percy snorted. 'Probably, _Hi, Annabeth! Sit here with me and watch while I tear your friends apart. It'll be fun!_ '

He was impossible. So he wouldn't let me gripe about Rachel's abysmal directions, but it was okay for him to snark about Luke?

Rachel still hadn't said anything. She was drawing on the floor with the end of a burnt stick, totally unconcerned about what we were discussing. Irritation swelled inside me. The way Percy looked at her, full of concern, like she was this innocent princess we'd dragged along with us … I wanted her to snap back at me, to quit acting so forlorn. I wanted to stamp all over her stupid pictures—drawing monsters, couldn't she have drawn something more useful, like a map?

I shoved my dagger back into its sheath more forcefully than I'd intended. 'So which way now, Sacagawea?'

Rachel didn't rise to my bait. She added a few more strokes to her ash drawing before she said, quietly, 'We'll follow the path. The brightness on the floor.'

'The brightness that led us straight into a trap?'

Predictably, Percy jumped to her defence. 'Lay off her, Annabeth. She's doing the best she can.'

My mouth tasted like it was full of coal. If I could, I'd have spit fire. I got up. If Percy wanted _Rachel_ to play our strategy, they could do it without me.

There were more broken crates near the entrance to the room. I started to pile them up, but I glanced behind me first, to where Percy and Rachel sat by the firelight. Their heads leaned in close as they talked. Rachel pointed in the other direction, towards the dark exit on the far side of the room.

I pressed my lips tightly together.

 _You could go back,_ said a voice in my head. _Find Luke. Find out what he wanted to tell you._

I could go off on my own. Leave Percy and his new _girlfriend._ If he trusted her so much, she could help him finish the quest.

My fingernails dug into my palms. The image of Janus flickered before the door. I heard myself shouting in the heart of Mount St Helens: ' _I choose Percy!_ '

I sighed and turned around, gathering up the wood scraps in my arms. What was I even thinking? This was still _my_ quest, even if Percy had talked me into letting a useless mortal tag along.

When I returned, Rachel was curled up on the tumbling mat with her backpack under her head. Percy was staring guiltily at her. I threw the new wood onto the fire and announced that I'd take the first watch.

Percy tore his eyes away from Rachel's sleeping form. 'You don't have to act like that.'

'Like what?' I said crossly. If Percy wanted to accuse me of something, he'd better come right out and say it.

'Like … never mind.' He turned away and lay down by the fire, closing his eyes.

I stoked the fire with my dagger. My anger simmered inside me, like a pot of soup ready to boil over. Rachel's pictures were all over the floor. I had to admit, grudgingly, that she had skill. She'd managed to render the arena perfectly in ash. There was a _dracaenae_ , and the Laistrygonian holding me captive, and Antaeus bound up in chains. That must have been what Percy had done on the ceiling. And there was Percy himself, a little ash figure with a sword. Despite my annoyance, I couldn't bring myself to wipe the surface clean.

It wasn't fair. Rachel had everything already—artistic talent, a normal life, even the navigational gift I'd begged every god we'd encountered to grant me. Why did she have to get my best friend, too?

Two years we'd been friends; Percy hadn't even known her for two weeks.

No, not exactly. He'd met her before, hadn't he? At Hoover Dam, he'd said. A place he _knew_ I'd always wanted to see.

I wrapped my arms around my knees and stared into the fire. The outline of a little girl flickered in it, a goddess with rosy cheeks and embers for eyes. Hestia, goddess of the hearth, who'd once told me she appeared to those of us who were desperate for home.

But where was my home? Was it camp, which was under threat? Or San Francisco with my family, in the shadow of Mount Othrys?

 _Family._

I turned my dagger over. It was Luke's promise to me, the one he'd broken. What had he wanted to tell me? I'd probably never know. Either we'd find Daedalus and save camp, or we'd fail and Luke's army would attack. In either case, I'd lost my chance to speak to him. Just like in San Francisco, I'd chosen to walk away.

 _It's because of him. You choose Percy._

I felt like I had in the wreckage of Hephaestus's forge, like the choice I'd made had been ripped away from me anyway.

The memory was so vivid, I could feel the swaying of the lava platform. Then I realised the tremors were real. The floor was actually vibrating. Cracks formed at the edges of the walls, moving inwards.

I grabbed Percy's shoulder. 'Wake up! Percy! Wake up!'

He jerked upright. 'Tyson!' he gasped inexplicably. 'Tyson's in trouble! We have to help him!'

He must have had a dream. But we had no time to talk about it now. 'First things first—earthquake!'

We roused Rachel and ran for it, tripping and stumbling over the bucking floor. The marble columns splintered and crashed to the ground. I had a sickening recollection of the dark sky falling, falling on my shoulders. Then we burst through the exit. The room collapsed into dust and rubble behind us.

I glared at Rachel. How many near-death experiences did she intend to lead us into?

'You know what?' I said sarcastically. 'I like this way after all.'

She took a deep breath. 'Good, because we're almost there.'

We continued through the maze without talking. This tunnel was the most modern of all the ones we'd been in, with fluorescent lighting and aluminium panelling. I felt sure we were completely off course. But Rachel took off once we emerged into a section like an industrial catwalk, paved with stainless-steel gratings. 'This way! We're close!'

'This is so wrong!' I complained. The tunnel smelt like a brand new factory, all metalwork and polish. 'The workshop should be in the oldest section of the maze. This can't …'

My voice trailed off when I saw it: the blue _Delta_ staring me in the face. 'This can't be …'

Rachel stopped before the double doors. 'We're here—Daedalus's workshop.'

Like all the other Labyrinth entrances, the doors opened at my touch. I didn't quite believe we'd really arrived until we stepped inside. And then I couldn't imagine it was anything else.

The place was an inventor's dream. It was even bigger than Hephaestus's workshop, bursting with light and colour and the coolest gadgets you could imagine. I didn't know where to look first. Everywhere I turned, from the ground to the open loft, a new item caught my eye. There was a corner with miniature architectural mock-ups, model buildings that were an astounding combination of organic and classical styles. A wireless lightbulb floated half a foot in the air above a wooden platform. Little round solar panels were suctioned to the window, with charger wires connected to laptop computers and portable disc players on a nearby workstation.

Even the room was a masterpiece in itself, with large bay windows that let the sunshine stream in at just the right angle and a spiral staircase that doubled up as storage shelves.

' _Di immortales,_ ' I gasped, fixating on the sketches that stared at me from easels all around the room. I couldn't tear my eyes away from them. One was a plan for the most intriguing building imaginable, all curves and flexible supports—functional and beautiful. 'He's a genius.'

'And an artist.' Rachel reached out to touch a set of metal wings hanging off pegs on the wall. They were made of bronze and silver, but managed to look light and airy all the same. Their interlocking feathers caught the sun and threw bursts of light across the room.

A lump rose in my throat. It wasn't fair. How could one man have all these ideas, be so brilliant at so many things?

Percy wandered over to the window. 'Where are we?'

'Colorado Springs,' said a familiar voice. I turned from the fascinating architectural sketch. In our admiration of the workshop, we hadn't noticed him emerge from the shadows of the loft.

Quintus came down the spiral staircase, his sword at the ready. 'The Garden of the Gods,' he said, nodding at the view outside.

I couldn't care less where we were. We'd finally reached Daedalus's workshop … but the traitor had gotten here first.

' _You._ What have you done with Daedalus?'

'Trust me, my dear,' Quintus said, 'you don't want to meet him.'

'Look, Mr Traitor, I didn't fight a dragon woman and a three-bodied man and—and a psychotic Sphinx to see _you._ ' I pulled my dagger. 'Now _where is Daedalus?_ '

Quintus kept on walking calmly down the stairs. 'You think I'm an agent of Kronos. That I work for Luke.'

'Well, _duh._ ' I looked around for Mrs O'Leary, but besides us, the room was empty. Had that been another trick, sending the hellhound to our aid in the arena?

Quintus nodded. 'You're an intelligent girl. But you're wrong. I work only for myself.'

'Luke mentioned you!' Percy said. 'Geryon knew about you, too.'

The scorpions. They'd been loose the day Quintus had disappeared … a distraction after all.

'Of course. I've been almost everywhere,' Quintus said lightly. 'Even here.'

I remembered him mentioning that. I'd assumed he'd had a brush with the Labyrinth, a harrowing escape like Clarisse and Chris. He'd let us believe that. But it obviously wasn't true. He knew the Labyrinth a lot better than he'd let on.

He could have guided us to our goal all along.

Quintus strolled to the window, like he was just here to admire the view. He even mused about it, the different locations he'd watched it travel in the past few days. He must have been here ever since he'd left camp.

'That's an illusion out there?' Percy said. 'A projection or something?'

'No, it's real,' Rachel said. 'We're really in Colorado.'

Quintus studied her intently. 'You have clear vision, don't you?' A faraway look came into his eyes. 'You remind me of another mortal girl I once knew. Another princess who came to grief.'

His words made me shiver. They were heavy and sad, the way Chiron sounded when he spoke of heroes he'd known a long time ago. I thought of Ariadne running into Daedalus's arms, laughing as he spun her around.

'What have you done with Daedalus?' Percy demanded.

'My boy …' Quintus sighed. 'You need lessons from your friend on seeing clearly.' But it was me his gaze drifted to, not Rachel. A second before he said it, I knew what he was going to admit.

'I _am_ Daedalus.'

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

 **A/N:** I can't believe we're in 2019, making it officially the third year I've been writing this series. Thank you all so much for following it!

Special thanks between the last chapter and now to **Numberfivewithabullet** , **Thunderwolf7226, thatoneguy, Livvi May, JustADerangedFanGirl, ArtimuosJackson, Xyno, Hello,** and **Anonymous** for dropping me a message since Saturday! I'm going to get to replies soon, but I just wanted to get this posted first.

Happy 2019 to you all (whether or not you're in it at the time of reading ... I am, at any rate, so see those of you who've yet to 'catch up' in the new year soon!) The next chapter will still be out Saturday as usual. :)


	23. We Confront A Robot

Chapter 23: We Confront A Robot

Part of my mind wanted to reject Quintus's extraordinary pronouncement. The other half was already putting together all the clues: Quintus's interest in my architecture, his ability to navigate the Labyrinth, Hephaestus's insistence that Daedalus was at camp. The god of the forge hadn't been jerking me around after all.

But … Quintus was so _young._ I mean, yeah, he was old, but like grandfatherly-old, not thousands of years old. He didn't even look as old as Daedalus had in my dreams about ancient Crete.

'You're an automaton,' Percy said. 'You've made yourself a new body.'

'Percy, that's not possible,' I protested. 'That—that can't be an automaton.'

I'd seen the best of Hephaestus's robots. They were life-like, sure, difficult to tell from real creations just by looking at them. But there was always that small clunkiness, a mechanical jerk to their movements that ultimately gave them away. Quintus moved with so much fluidity and grace. I'd even seen him fence, for Olympus's sake.

'Do you know what Quintus means, my dear?'

'The—the fifth,' I stammered. It was Latin. But what did this have to do with Daedalus?

'This is my fifth body.' Quintus—or Daedalus, I guess—popped a hatch on his arm. Beneath his skin, where veins and sinew should have resided, were gears and wires, all churning merrily away. He was some kind of cyborg, a robot creation that somehow believed he was a three-thousand-year-old inventor.

Rachel's eyes shone. 'That's amazing!'

'That's weird,' Percy said. I was inclined to agree.

'You … found a way to transfer your _animus_ into a machine?' It wasn't without precedent. There was another case I knew of: a millennia-old son of Hermes I'd met once. Aethalides's consciousness had migrated into a new body every time the old one died. But that had been a gift from the gods, a real body each time. Transplanting your spirit into a _machine,_ though? 'That's not natural.'

'Oh, I assure you, my dear, it's still me. I'm still very much Daedalus.' He peeled away the back of his shirt to reveal a mark on his skin—or whatever material he was actually made of. What I'd taken for a dark bruise before was the imprint of a bird. It looked like it had been ironed on.

'A murderer's brand,' I whispered.

Quintus—Daedalus's mouth twisted in an expression so bitterly human, a real automaton should never have been able to pull it off. 'Our mother, Athena, makes sure I never forget.'

'For your nephew, Perdix.' Percy accused Daedalus of pushing his own kin to his death.

Daedalus's voice carried the weight of millennia of regret as he related the tale: his anger, his mistake, his punishment.

 _A bad choice can ruin your life._

Strangely enough, it was this that convinced me that it was really him, the venerable inventor, automaton body or not.

'But why did you come to the camp?' Percy asked. 'Why spy on us?'

'To see if your camp was worth saving,' Daedalus said simply. 'Luke had given me one story. I preferred to come to my own conclusions.'

It all made sense now—the way he'd inspected our activities, asked me to tell me what camp meant to me, like he was collecting facts to reach a decision.

'But now you've seen the camp!' I said in relief. 'So you know we need your help. You can't let Luke through the maze!'

'The maze is no longer mine to control, Annabeth. I created it, yes. In fact, it is tied to my life force. But I have allowed it to live and grow on its own. That is the price I paid for privacy.'

I frowned. 'Privacy from what?'

'The gods … and death.' He put his sword down and picked up an hourglass from the table. The sand ran through the bottleneck in the centre, its motion powering a scoop that lifted it back to the top so that the hourglass would keep on running without ever having to be turned over. 'I have been alive for two millennia, my dear, hiding from death.'

He explained how he had evaded the daemons of the Underworld … even Minos, the implacable spirit who had never given up haunting the maze in search of him. Knowing the depths of Minos's spite, it was hard to blame Daedalus for his fugue.

I had to hand it to him, really. The way he'd set out to achieve something and made it happen, no matter how impossible it should have been … Just like he'd done with the Labyrinth, breathing life into it until it became a monster in its own right, unnavigable even by the gods—a true archetype that had spawned all mazes to come. Daedalus's personal protector.

The guy had the true spirit of an inventor. Given a problem, he solved it with his own wits.

And he was my half-brother. I couldn't help but feel a surge of pride.

A series of thumps resounded through the corridor. Mrs O'Leary had found us at last. The doors swung open and she gambolled in. She headed straight for her master, giant tail wagging. Daedalus met her with open arms and the first genuine smile I'd seen since we'd found him here.

'There is my old friend! My only companion all these long lonely years.'

Percy touched his mouth. 'You let her save me. That whistle actually worked.'

The whistle? Oh. Of course. The thing he'd blown into, just before Mrs O'Leary had shown up in the arena. Quintus must have given it to him.

'Percy, you have a good heart,' Daedalus said. 'And I knew Mrs O'Leary liked you. I wanted to help you. Perhaps I—' He hung his head. 'I felt guilty, as well.'

'Guilty about what?' Percy said.

Daedalus hesitated. He buried his face in Mrs O'Leary's ruff for a second, then looked at us sadly. 'That your quest would be in vain.'

What was he saying? We hadn't failed; we were here. We'd found him!

'But you can still help us,' I said. 'You have to! Give us Ariadne's string so Luke can't get it.'

'Yes … the string.' Daedalus sighed. 'I told Luke that the eyes of a clear-sighted mortal are the best guide, but he did not trust me. He was so focused on the idea of a magic item. And the string works. It's not as accurate as your mortal friend here, perhaps.' He nodded at Rachel. 'But good enough. Good enough.'

My stomach was an ice pit. I didn't want the answer that I knew would come, but the question slipped out of my mouth anyway. 'Where is it?'

'With Luke. I'm sorry, my dear. But you are several hours too late.'

I couldn't speak. The ice in my stomach was spreading like a frost to my throat.

Daedalus explained Kronos's promises— _Luke's_ promises, just like the ones he'd made to me before. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. This man, the great inventor … I'd thought he had brilliance inside him. I'd thought he crafted his own solutions to reach his goals. But he wanted to reign over the Underworld. He wanted to be made a god, to rule like Kronos, to get his revenge … I'd believed him misunderstood, persecuted, hounded by Minos. But he was just as selfish as the rest of us. Even more.

I found my voice. 'That's your brilliant idea? You're going to let Luke destroy our camp, kill hundreds of demigods and then attack Olympus? You're going to bring down the entire world so you can get what you want?'

'Your cause is doomed, my dear. I saw that as soon as I began to work at your camp. There is no way you can hold back the might of Kronos.'

'That's not true!'

'I am doing what I must, my dear. The offer was too sweet to refuse. I'm sorry.'

The sharp sting of betrayal was like a knife against my skin. Here was yet another person letting me down. How much more could I lose?

I understood now why Tyson had been devastated at Briares's cowardice. Only I wasn't sad. I was incensed.

'I used to respect you. You were my hero! You—you built amazing things. You solved problems.' I stared at the beautiful sketch of the curved building that I'd admired. It was a cruel taunt now. With a violent sweep of my arm, the entire row of easels clattered to the ground. The action didn't soothe my strangled heart. 'I don't know what you are. Children of Athena are supposed to be _wise,_ not just clever.' My voice hitched. 'Maybe you _are_ just a machine. You should have died two thousand years ago.'

Daedalus didn't even stoop to pick up his fallen sketches. 'You should go warn your camp,' he said. 'Now that Luke has the string—'

Rachel, who had been silent all this time, suddenly interrupted. 'Someone's coming!'

Sure enough, the workshop doors banged open again. This time, it was Nico, of all people, who burst through—and he wasn't alone. Kelli the _empousa_ had him in chains. Flanking her were two Laistrygonian giants. And the last of their party …

I almost mistook him for an actual person at first. He was even more solid than Bianca had been, his white robes blindingly bright, the gold circlet on his head rich with colour. His eyes and pointed beard still glittered with a thousand years of malice.

'There you are, my old friend,' Minos hissed.

'What is the meaning of this?' Daedalus demanded.

Kelli gave him a nasty smile. 'Luke sends his compliments. He thought you might like to see your old employer, Minos.'

'This was not part of our agreement!'

Kelli was completely unconcerned. 'No indeed. But we already have what we want from you.' She smirked as she laid out the double-cross. Having secured the string, they'd proceeded to bargain with Minos, who had the most valuable chip to cash in …

Nico.

By the look on Nico's pale, terrified face, Daedalus wasn't the only one who'd been duped.

Daedalus took a step back, clapping a hand to his heart like Kelli had pierced him with her talons. 'Treachery.'

I was almost sorry for him. But I didn't feel like forgiving him just yet. His gullibility was just another blow. He should have been wiser than to trust Kronos.

'Get used to it,' Kelli sniffed.

'Nico, are you okay?' Percy asked.

Nico's face crumpled. 'I—I'm sorry, Percy. Minos told me you were in danger. He convinced me to go back into the maze.'

'You were trying to help us?'

'I was tricked. He tricked all of us.'

Percy's eyes hardened. 'Where's Luke? Why isn't he here?'

'Luke is busy.' Kelli's smile danced over me, as flaky as cheap paint. She seemed to be savouring a particularly juicy secret. 'He is preparing for the assault. But don't worry. We have more friends on the way. And in the meantime, I think I'll have a wonderful snack!'

Fangs elongated from her gaudy smile. She shed her cheerleader disguise, transforming into the half-donkey-, half-bronze-legged demon with claws for hands and fire in her hair.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Rachel reach for Percy. He pushed her away. 'I'll try to buy you some time.'

It was what he'd said to me in the heart of Mount St Helens. But I didn't have time to dwell on that. I wouldn't have left him again, anyway. There was even a small comfort in facing the business end of a deadly battle by his side.

We fell into our familiar attack pattern. I feinted right, drawing the _empousa_ away. Percy covered my left automatically. He tried to come at her from behind, but she was insanely fast. Tables flipped. More easels toppled in her deadly dance across the room.

My hyperactive battle senses opened up. I saw Daedalus dodging giants as he tried to reach his sword. Mrs O'Leary smashed inventions left and right as she howled and charged down his attackers, digging in with her fangs. I saw Nico wriggle across the floor, still in his chains. Minos screamed over the din, bawling for Daedalus's death.

Kelli upended another table. Jars of Greek fire went flying. Inventions caught in brilliant green flames. Even though I'd been angry enough to wreck the workshop earlier, it gave me a sharp pang to actually see those beautiful creations go up in flames.

Minos was growing more solid by the second. He raised his arms. He was chanting as Nico had done the night we summoned Bianca. The air filled with the vibrations of swarming spirits. They flocked around the ghost king, even though he hadn't a soda to offer them.

'A soul for a soul,' he gloated at Nico. 'But it is not your sister who will return from the dead. It is I, as soon as I slay the inventor!'

Nico got to his feet. The fire had cut through his chains. He stood in its green glow, looking almost as ghostly as Minos's spirits. 'I am the son of Hades. Begone!'

'You have no power over me,' Minos sneered. 'I am the lord of spirits! The ghost king!'

 _You shall rise or fall,_ the Oracle's voice whispered in my head.

Then Nico raised his sword—the black Stygian blade that Geryon had disdained. A tremendous burst of power exploded out from the point of the blade the moment he brought it down. It blasted us off our feet. The windows shattered.

'No,' Nico said coldly, as every single ghost, Minos included, was vacuumed into a narrow crack in the stone floor. 'I am.'

I was flung across the table with the laptops. I rolled off it and stabbed a giant's outstretched hand. He howled and lurched back, straight into Mrs O'Leary's waiting jaws.

'You will taste wonderful!' Kelli squealed. She'd cornered Percy against an upended table. His sword was three feet away.

I ran, my heart pounding. She was inches from his throat when I sank my dagger into her spine.

Kelli stiffened. She gave a shuddering gasp. I pulled my blade out and she dissolved into screams and dust.

'Thanks,' Percy gasped. A bump was already forming on the back of his head. I pulled him to his feet.

With Kelli down, we had a brief respite, but it wouldn't last. Daedalus and Mrs O'Leary were busy with the Laistrygonians, and judging by the stampede coming from the tunnel entrance, we were about to be overrun. Had Luke sent his entire army just to fetch Daedalus? Or did he somehow know that we were here, too?

'We have to help Daedalus!' Percy started towards the inventor. He'd found his sword and was duelling two giants at a go.

An angel with metal wings popped up between us. I nearly stabbed it before I realised it was Rachel. She'd pulled the bronze and silver wings off the wall and attached them to herself. They spread in a wide arc from her shoulders.

'No time! Too many coming!' she insisted.

She grabbed Nico and strapped another set of wings to his shoulders. Once the adhesive tapes melded to his skin, she turned to Percy.

'Now you!'

Percy grabbed me and started attaching wings to my back while Rachel fitted him out. Nico helped him, their fingers working clumsily over my shoulders. The moment the wings were attached, I felt the flow of air through the feathers, the breeze begging me to lift off. It was like they actually belonged to me, an extension of my arms rather than random attachments.

Percy yelled out to Daedalus, but the inventor did the first thing that endeared me to him. He refused to leave Mrs O'Leary.

'Go!' he shouted at us.

Nico balked at the window. 'None of us know how to fly!'

I gave him a push. 'Just follow my lead.'

We jumped from the tower into the bright blue Colorado sky.

Flying with my own wings wasn't so different from flying in the Sopwith Camel. Sure, I had to adjust my wings—arms—manually rather than push a joystick, but the principles of aerodynamics were the same. This high up, there was enough of an updraft to catch us in a glide.

'Spread your arms!' I yelled to the others. 'Keep them extended!'

We soared over a valley of red cliffs and rock spires, against the backdrop of the Rocky Mountains. Nico flew cautiously, with the occasional flap to reassure himself that his wings still worked. Rachel glided along with an expression of wonder on her face, like this was the most amazing thing she'd ever done (it probably was).

Percy flew like a daredevil—no surprises there. Once he got the hang of it, he rose and swooped fearlessly, determined to push his new toy to the limit. I thought anxiously of Icarus plummeting to his death.

I yelled at Percy to land before our luck could run out. He couldn't resist doing a loop around a spiralling column of stone during our descent into the Garden of the Gods. I wondered what the climbers saw.

We landed not a moment too soon. As we ran down the walkway of the visitor centre, we were moulting shiny bronze feathers. By the time we ditched the wings in an overflowing trash bin and looked back, the tower of Daedalus's workshop had disappeared.

It had moved, just like Daedalus had said. There was no telling where it had gone. Now that I knew how it worked, the illogic didn't bother me quite so much. It was just a massive monster, with its own life force. Daedalus's life force.

Percy peered through a set of tourist binoculars on the rail at the empty hill where the workshop had been. 'So what do we do now? How do we get back in the maze?'

'Maybe we can't. If Daedalus … died.' I swallowed. 'He said his life force was tied to the Labyrinth. The whole thing might've been destroyed. Maybe that will stop Luke's invasion.'

 _Destroy with a hero's final breath._ Was that it? Could this really be the end of my quest? I ran through the rest of my prophecy: _delve in the darkness … the dead, the traitor, the lost one … the ghost king … child of Athena's final stand …_

 _And lose a love …_

Who had I lost? I thought of Luke, still inside the maze as far as I knew. And then, sickeningly, of Tyson and Grover. What would happen if the Labyrinth disappeared with somebody still inside?

Percy's face was white. He must have followed a similar train of thought.

'No,' Nico said sharply. 'He isn't dead.'

We stared at him. 'How can you be sure?' Percy asked.

Nico explained his gift for feeling death. I guess it was a son of Hades thing. Unfortunately, it didn't work for Cyclopes or satyrs.

I didn't dare to ask about Luke.

'We have to get into town,' I said. 'Our chances of finding an entrance to the Labyrinth will be better.' If Daedalus wasn't dead, there were no more barriers between Luke and his invasion. 'We have to make it back to camp before Luke and his army.' I didn't know what we could do at this point, but if we were going to do anything, it wouldn't be from the middle of Colorado.

Flying was out of the question, with Percy's flight ban—well, plane flight, anyway—so we figured the quickest way was to find another Labyrinth entrance. Our best bet was a city. Problem was, the nearest one was miles away. We needed a car.

Rachel glared at the visitor's parking lot below like the cars there had personally offended her. 'I'll take care of it,' she sighed.

'How?' What did she mean to do, jack one? It struck me how little we really knew about her. For all I knew, she actually had a criminal past—and not just the Mist-enhanced juvenile delinquency records the rest of us had.

The idea actually made me like her more than I had so far. I remembered how she'd said her parents wouldn't even notice if she didn't come home.

So when she said, 'Trust me,' for the first time, I did.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

 **A/N** : The character of Aethalides (or 'Ethel', as I called him) comes from the story of the Argonauts, and appears in my previous story, The Golden Fleece.

Thank you, **2na22, Hello, Livvi May, MariaClaire, DreamCatcher06, CQ816, OverLordRevan, thatoneguy,** and **JustADerangedFanGirl** for dropping by this week, and happy new year to you all! Special thanks to those of you who pointed out the Britishism in 'bully for you' last chapter—try as I may, certain phrases simply don't cross my mind as odd!


	24. Nico Wrecks A Fortress

**A/N** : Okay, so I know this chapter is early (Friday in my time zone), but I'm (a) waiting in transit at an airport and (b) not intending to have my laptop at all this weekend, so here it is—the chapter for Saturday, just a day ahead.

Chapter 24: Nico Wrecks A Fortress

While Rachel tried to hustle us a ride, Nico and I went to the gift shop in search of a prism and some food. Percy followed Rachel, which would have annoyed me if not for the grim expression on his face. It looked like he'd guessed what she intended to do and meant to talk her out of it. He'd always been kinda sensitive about stealing stuff. I guess it was because he'd been framed two years ago for the biggest theft of the millennium.

Me, I figured the ends justified the means. And our ends were pretty desperate right now.

Or maybe I'd just hung around Hermes cabin too much as a kid.

The gift shop didn't sell prisms, but they had these twinkling wind chime things that caught the sunlight and sparkled in rainbow shades. They should work well enough. When I was paying for one, Nico came up to the counter with a sandwich and two cokes.

'Thirsty, are you?'

He flushed for some reason, and dug a handful of change out of his pocket. Then his face went even redder. 'Uh, just the one coke,' he told the cashier.

'That's okay, I've got it,' I said.

'And the other one's for … uh, it's for you,' he mumbled.

I stared at him. A crazy suspicion started to form in my head.

'Thanks,' I said. 'Why don't we get one for Percy, too? And Rachel.'

The suggestion seemed to put him at ease. Nico trotted off for more cokes. I paid the cashier.

We had to return to the terrace to make the call. I was relieved to see the outlines of the cabins behind Chiron when he appeared in the rainbow. The attack hadn't happened yet. Chiron brightened when I told him we'd found Daedalus, but his expression faded back to worry once I explained what had passed in the workshop.

'So that was Quintus's secret,' he said. 'I wish I had seen it. Maybe …' He frowned and shook his head. 'You said he was fighting off the Titan army?'

'Yes, but he's not dead. Nico said—' I paused.

'Nico, the son of Hades.'

Nico looked up warily from his sandwich.

'It's okay,' I said. 'Chiron, he's with us. He's fine.'

'Thank the gods,' Chiron said. 'And Luke—he was not with his army?'

'No. The _empousa_ said he was busy preparing for the attack. He's probably—' I gulped. 'They're probably marching to Long Island as we speak.'

Chiron rubbed a weary hand over his forehead. 'We will prepare for battle,' he said. 'Hurry back. We will need you and Percy … and Grover and Tyson, if you can find them.' He craned his neck to locate Nico, standing silently to the side. The half-eaten sandwich hung loosely in Nico's hand, forgotten on its way to his mouth. 'Nico, too.'

'We're coming as fast as we can,' I promised.

'Be careful,' Chiron warned. 'What you said about Luke … I do not like the sound of it. I fear there may be more to this attack that we have not understood.'

'What does he want with me?' Nico asked on our way back to the parking lot.

'Chiron's worried about you, Nico. We all were.'

Nico scowled. 'Yeah, right.' Then he said, so softly that I almost had to ask him to repeat the question, 'Why did you bargain with Geryon to let me go?'

'Because that's Percy. He never leaves a friend behind.' I squeezed Nico's shoulder, then took a deep breath. 'Bianca's death wasn't his fault. It was mine. Percy would have saved Bianca if he could. I know it.'

Nico shook his head, but whether it was to absolve my guilt or insist on Percy's, I didn't know. He pressed his lips together tightly, signifying an end to the conversation.

We found Percy standing alone on the sidewalk, frowning at a shiny black Lexus at the edge of the parking lot.

'I talked to Chiron,' I told him. 'They're doing their best to prepare for battle, but he still wants us back. They're going to need every hero they can get.' I scanned the parking lot for Rachel. 'Did we find a ride?'

She came up to us from the direction of the Lexus. 'The driver's ready when we are.'

My jaw dropped when she led us to the fancy car, straight past its well-dressed chauffeur, and to its open door.

'Come on,' she said, motioning for us to get in.

I followed suspiciously. Every time I'd been on a quest, anything fancy was most likely to get us killed. Monsters always offered luxury to draw us in. But Rachel had found the car. And she _had_ led us to Daedalus's workshop—she really wasn't lying about her ability to see things. I guess she would know if the driver was a monster.

Plus, she talked to him like he was a personal friend. He didn't even question it when she told him to drive through town without a destination in mind.

I needed to revise my impression of her. No juvie kid had connections this good … unless her parents were drug lords or something.

Percy, Nico, and I tucked into the mini-fridge on board (Nico's purchases lay discarded in favour of the ice-cold soda and chips). Rachel kept her face firmly planted against the tinted one-way window. She had no luck. Colorado Springs seemed too small a town to have a Labyrinth entrance.

'Maybe we should try Denver,' I said. It wasn't my favourite place, after the spectacularly bad experience I'd had at a water park there, but it was the biggest city in Colorado. We'd have a higher chance of finding something there.

Rachel shrugged and told our driver to head north on the I-25. But before we'd gone twenty minutes, she ordered him back off the highway and onto a nondescript country road—the complete opposite of city. We ended up in the middle of nowhere, in front of a hill with a boarded-up old mine shaft.

'A door to the Labyrinth?' I said dubiously. 'How can you be sure?'

'Well, look at it! I mean …' She winced at our baffled faces. 'I can see it, okay?'

The driver was reluctant to drop us off in the back of beyond. 'Are you sure you'll be all right, Miss Dare? I'd be happy to call your—'

Rachel cut him off immediately. 'No! No, really.' Her voice was even shriller than usual. She thanked him in a very final tone.

Who _was_ this girl?

We hiked up to the mine entrance. Sure enough, the mark of Daedalus was on the padlock over the hole.

'Back to New York?' Rachel asked.

'Yeah.' Percy opened the entrance and we headed underground. This time, I followed Rachel's lead without commentary—at least, not on her abilities. It was her background I was more interested in now.

'So, you said you're from Brooklyn.'

'Uh-huh.'

'Which part?'

'Oh, uh, like, northeast.' She didn't elaborate. It could have been anywhere from Jackson Heights to Queens.

After ten minutes of one-word answers that didn't shed any light on the mystery of Rachel Dare, I switched tactics.

'Do you do a lot of art at school?'

'Some. It's mostly stuff on the side, you know. Evening classes, summer camps …' She gave Percy and me a sidewise glance. 'Nothing like what you guys are used to, I guess.'

'We have an art and crafts cabin.'

Rachel's tone turned wistful. 'I'd like to see that.'

'Your parents are okay with you doing art?'

'They don't care.' She changed the subject. 'I wouldn't have thought you guys did art and crafts at camp. I thought it was all weapons and monster fighting and stuff.'

'We do lots of stuff.' I explained about the gods and their special domains—especially Athena, patron of useful crafts and architecture. 'Design is _very_ important to her.'

'Makes sense,' Rachel said thoughtfully. 'I never really thought about it, but I guess architecture was kind of like ancient art.'

'It still is! I mean, it still illustrates stuff—culture, values …'

'The GE Building,' Rachel mused. 'You seen that? There's a frieze there— _"wisdom and knowledge."_ '

I hadn't expected her to agree with me, much less pull an example out of her hat. 'You know about architecture?'

'Not much. We did a bit in art class. And I've lived in New York for a while. It's got so many cool buildings. Have you been to the Empire State? I think that one actually has some of your magical stuff going on there. It has this weird cloud above it.'

'That's where Mount Olympus is.'

'No way!' She started rattling off a list of other buildings in her rapid-fire way. I had to admit I wasn't sure if they had mythological connections. Most of them I hadn't even seen yet, which made me greatly jealous of Rachel again.

I had the uneasy feeling that if we'd met under different circumstances, I could almost have liked her.

I also realised that she had expertly deflected all of my questions about her background.

Suddenly, Rachel broke off mid-sentence. We'd arrived at a T-junction with an arched tunnel shooting off to the right.

'Is that the way?' I swung my beam into the tunnel. The darkness swallowed it up, like it had flicked off the switch.

Rachel bit her lip. 'No, not at all.'

'Why are we stopping, then?' Percy leaned into the tunnel. A fresh, cold breeze wafted out, smelling of camphor and captivity. 'Eucalyptus trees.' He caught my eye, and I knew we were thinking the same thing. 'Like in California.'

Rachel's voice was thinner and smaller than I'd heard it so far. 'There's something evil down that tunnel. Something very powerful.'

'And the smell of death,' Nico said darkly.

A phantom ache ghosted over my shoulders. It had the scent of a rocky dirt cell and a cracking column of sky.

'Luke's entrance,' I breathed. This was where he'd held me prisoner last winter. This was how he'd used the Labyrinth. 'The one to Mount Othrys—the Titan's palace.'

'I have to check it out,' Percy said.

I grabbed his arm. 'Percy, no!'

'Luke could be right there! Or … or Kronos. I have to find out what's going on.'

Not alone, he wouldn't. 'Then we'll all go.'

But Percy insisted on splitting up. 'If they got hold of Nico, or Rachel for that matter, Kronos could use them,' he reminded me.

I hated that he was right. Nico had barely escaped being sold to the Titans. The last thing we needed was to take him straight to their stronghold. I was about to volunteer to go instead, but the memory of the last time I'd gone ahead to scout and left Percy to wait paralysed me.

'Percy, don't,' Rachel pleaded, but she was no more effective than I'd been in dissuading him.

'At least take this.' I handed him my invisibility cap. 'And—and be careful.' My throat closed up as soon as I said the words. The last time I'd said them …

Percy looked disappointed when I gave him my cap. Had he expected me to argue more? Insist on going?

No sooner had he slipped out of sight did I regret letting him go. What had I been thinking? It was the cursed Labyrinth again, playing with my head, forging divisions in our group.

'You have an _invisibility hat?_ ' Rachel marvelled. 'That's crazy weird.'

'You think _that's_ weird? I thought you were supposed to be the Mist-guru.'

'Hey, invisibility is like the opposite of what I see.' She cocked her head. 'If you've got that, why don't you just sneak around invisible all the time?'

'It's not so simple. Invisibility can only get you so far. And if I know Percy … it might not be enough. He's an expert at getting into trouble.' I twisted the ring on my camp necklace. Should I go after him? Could I leave Nico and Rachel to wait?

'You don't say,' Rachel said. She started ticking off instances on her fingers. 'First time I meet him, he's running from these crazy skeleton dudes. Next time I run into him, he's got demon cheerleaders on his tail. And now this …'

'You don't know the half of it,' I snapped. My insides felt like a musical string stretched too tight. I shouldn't have let him go. I _shouldn't_ have let him go.

'You think he's going to mess it up?'

'We're going after him,' I decided.

'Percy said no!' Nico protested. 'He told us to wait.'

'He's going to need my help, Nico,' I said. 'I know he will.'

'But—'

'I can't let him face whatever's down there on his own.'

' _We,_ ' Rachel interjected. ' _We_ can't let him face it alone.'

I crossed my arms. 'You're mortal.'

'You were the one who said we should all go.'

'Fine.' I didn't want to waste any more time arguing. 'We'll all go.'

Nico's eyes were wide and alarmed. 'Percy said—'

'Please, Nico.'

He bit his lip and relented.

It was hard to be stealthy with three of us and no powers of invisibility, but we tried our best. The tunnel was so dark, we could barely see one another. We hugged the walls in case someone came hurrying along, but the tunnel stayed cold and empty. The overpowering smell of eucalyptus made me want to gag.

The tunnel sloped upwards. We passed the open two-foot-square cell I'd been held in before. It was the same path Luke had marched me up to the peak of Mount Othrys. My fingers reached automatically for my dagger, seeking the comfort of its familiar grip.

Our exit from the tunnel was blocked.

'That's the kid from the arena,' Rachel whispered. 'The one with the eye patch. But what are those creatures?'

It was indeed Ethan. With him were a pair of telkhines. They were hunched over a large basin filled with blood. The handle of something poked out from the surface. A sword, I guessed.

'What's in there?' Rachel asked. 'It—it feels evil.'

Nico ran his fingers nervously over the hilt of his own sword. 'Something forged in death.'

'The blade is sanctified!' one of the telkhines announced. 'It is time.'

The other telkhine lifted the blade from the basin of blood. It wasn't a sword. It was a curved, seven-foot blade, one side forged in steel, the other in bronze. A scythe. The weapon in the volcano.

I understood now. It was the greatest Titan weapon, Kronos's symbol of power. Don't ask me how I knew, but I was certain that this blade wasn't just _like_ Luke's sword—it _was_ Backbiter, the Celestial bronze and hard steel fused into a weapon ten times more wicked.

This couldn't mean anything good. Not for us, and not for Luke.

The telkhines wrapped the scythe in a midnight black cloth. They were both very careful not to handle the blade.

'I'm guessing that one wouldn't pass right through me,' Rachel whispered.

'Come, half-blood,' said the telkhine. 'You will present the blade now to our lord and master.'

They made their way up the mountain, holding the wrapped scythe reverently before them. We waited for their voices to fade away before we clambered out of the tunnel.

We were on the desolate mountain peak, a short way down from the funnelled columns of foggy sky that sat on Atlas's shoulders. The last time I'd been here, there'd been a circle of black marble ruins near the top of the mountain. They were no longer there. Instead, a black fortress rose out of the shadows. The towering marble walls of the Titans' palace had reformed, just as Kronos's scythe had been reforged.

Ice crept from the floor of the fortress, spreading across the ground towards us. We exchanged nervous looks.

'What's that?' Rachel asked.

'I don't know.' My knife was burning in its sheath, a warning.

Then we heard Percy's voice ring out: 'No! Ethan, don't!'

Nico, Rachel, and I exchanged another look. We sprinted for the fortress, but as we got closer, the air grew heavy. Frost stung at our skin, slowing us down. My legs felt like they were wading through syrup.

A laugh came from the palace, so high and cold it turned my insides to ice.

It took forever to reach the entrance to the fortress. When we got there, the most bizarre and terrifying sight greeted us: Percy was running in slow motion away from Luke, who strode casually down the black marble hall, Kronos's scythe swinging in his hands.

'PERCY!' Rachel screamed.

I couldn't tear my eyes away from Luke. He was the one laughing Kronos's evil cackle. His body was too chiselled, too perfect, like his features had been immortalised in stone. The look on his face was barely human. And his eyes … his eyes …

A blue plastic hairbrush flew across the room. Rachel had flung it, and her aim was spot-on. It smacked Luke's face dead centre. Glitter flecks showered from its bristles, the same colour as his eerie, foreign eyes.

As if a spell had been broken, Percy broke into a proper run.

Luke's face changed. His inhuman expression broke; a flash of blue flickered through his golden irises. He looked straight at me, bewildered.

'Luke? What's going on?'

Janus hovered in front of me, a ghostly shade no one but me could see.

 _He'll use me._

 _I would speak to her before …_

Luke's wavering expression beckoned me forward. He'd been turned into some kind of puppet, and Rachel's hairbrush had just knocked him out of his hypnosis. If I could just get to him now …

Was this my chance to fix things? Was this the choice I had to make?

Percy barrelled towards us. He grabbed my shirt and yanked me away, out of the fortress. I was too stunned to do anything but trip along beside him.

An awful voice that couldn't be Luke, but was, screamed after us.

I had to turn back. I had to see what was going on. I had to get to Luke …

But Percy dragged me forward relentlessly. Nico clapped his hands together with a yell. The ground exploded behind us, mountains of rock erupting from the ground, splitting it apart. I heard it crumble behind us, the sound of tons of marble collapsing into dust.

Then we dove back into the Labyrinth tunnel, away from the storm-tossed mountain and the terrible distortion of my oldest friend.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

 **A/N** : Sorry to go all academic on Annabeth and Rachel's conversation, but I figured that'd be more important to Annabeth than it was to Percy. Plus, if Annabeth is going to geek out on anything, it'll be architecture! And I haven't been to the GE Building, but I reckon Wikipedia images is fairly accurate. The writing: ' _Wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times_ ' just seems like something Annabeth would appreciate!

Thanks you **Hello, JustADerangedFanGirl, Thunderwolf7226, thatoneguy, ArtimuosJackson,** and **OverLordRevan** for your comments on the last chapter! I can't believe we're almost at the end now ... four more chapters to go. *gasp* Thanks for sticking it all this way, guys.


	25. Grover Grows His Horns

**A/N** : This chapter is rated PG-13/T because, well, angst warning!

Chapter 25: Grover Grows His Horns

Luke's face haunted me as we ran. It kept changing before me, bewilderment into something harsh and cold, blue eyes fading to metallic gold. Back and forth, shifting between himself and the strange … _thing_ that looked human, but was … not.

What had Kronos done to him?

 _Kronos is going to use me._

 _I would speak to her before our great triumph._

I felt sick. I couldn't see. I couldn't breathe. If it hadn't been for Percy pushing me along, half-carrying me down the tunnels, I would have collapsed in tears. Was this what Luke had been trying to tell me? That Kronos had intended to turn him into this … what _was_ he, an automaton?

Something under Kronos's control.

Oh, _why_ had he gone back to Kronos?

Could I have prevented it?

I saw Kelli smirking at me in the arena. _So you're the one._

The executioner's blade glinted over a doorway, with Luke trapped underneath. Only now it was Kronos's scythe, wicked and threatening. Janus hovered in front of him.

 _One choice can ruin your life, kill all your friends._

But how could I choose wisely when every path that led from one decision was as obscured as the forks in this impossible maze?

We finally came to a stop. Percy let me go. I immediately curled up into a ball, sobs wracking my body.

I didn't want to choose any more. I couldn't take any more of these decisions, these treacherous choices that seemed logical at the outset and then morphed into something completely wrong. I couldn't be responsible for the fates of all my friends.

Except I was. I was the leader. This was my quest.

For the first time, it truly hit me what it meant to be in charge. To lead. To have to make choices with incomplete information and just hope and pray you were doing the right thing anyway.

And live with the consequences if you didn't.

I struggled to get myself back under control. We were in a limestone cavern, with bright, jagged stalactites pointed at our heads. Rachel was panting hard a few feet away, her hand clapped over her side. The boys sat between us, talking quietly.

Percy saw me look up. He had that expression people generally wear at funerals— _I'm sorry for your loss._

'What—' My breath hitched with one last sob. 'What was wrong with Luke? What did they do to him?'

Percy played with his shoelaces, making one loop, and then two, before he answered. 'When I saw the sarcophagus, I thought … well, Kronos was supposed to be reforming inside, right? I thought if I could just stab him, I could stop all of it—the invasion, the war, everything. But then I opened the coffin and … it was Luke inside. Then Ethan and the telkhines came, and I tried to stop it, but he wouldn't listen. He pledged himself to Kronos. That was the last piece. Kronos woke up.' He looked at me, his funereal expression plainer than ever. 'He became Luke, Annabeth. Luke is Kronos now.'

The frost from the Titan's palace must have seeped into me somehow, because it was spreading through my body. 'No. That can't be true. He couldn't—'

'He gave himself over to Kronos. I'm sorry, Annabeth. But Luke is gone.'

But he couldn't be. Kronos might be trying to control Luke's body, but I'd _seen_ him. The real him. 'You saw when Rachel hit him!'

Percy missed the point completely, picking up instead on Rachel's bold aim. Like chucking a plastic hairbrush at Luke was some athletic feat to be celebrated.

I wouldn't let him sidetrack me. 'But you _saw._ When it hit him, just for a second, he was dazed. He came back to his senses.'

'So maybe Kronos wasn't completely settled in the body, or whatever. It doesn't mean Luke was in control.'

What he was saying … it wasn't just that Kronos was controlling Luke. Percy was so adamant that Luke was … transformed, somehow.

'You _want_ him to be evil, is that it?' My tears were rising again. 'You didn't know him before, Percy. I did!' He'd never wanted to give Luke a second chance, never been willing to see the traces of the boy Luke had once been, the one who cared about me.

'What _is_ it with you? Why do you keep defending him?'

Rachel put her hands between us. 'Whoa, you two, knock it off.'

I stopped just short of punching her. 'Stay out of it, mortal girl! If it wasn't for you …' I couldn't finish. I would have loved to blame Rachel for everything, but the truth was, if she hadn't thrown that hairbrush, I'd never have seen that spark of the real Luke staring out from within … from within Kronos. I might even have believed Percy that Luke was gone. Beyond hope.

Luke was Kronos.

A fresh wave of tears overcame me.

' _I thought if I could just stab him, I could stop all of it,_ ' Percy had said. I could have done the same, when Luke had stood on my doorstep last month, defenceless against my dagger.

 _You may as well. You'll never get the chance again._ What if I'd taken my knife and plunged it through his heart? I thought of Ariadne and Theseus in the Minotaur's arena—that horrible second in which Asterion had stared at Ariadne, right before Theseus had stabbed him.

Was Luke better off dead than trapped in a Titan's body?

 _A fate worse than—_

I ripped the thought out of my head before it could take root. The conclusion was too scary. I wouldn't think about it. I _couldn't_ think about it.

Percy's hand fell on my shoulder. He was kneeling in front of me, his expression gentle, like we hadn't been yelling our heads off at each other a moment ago.

'Hey,' he said, 'I'm sorry. We need to move.'

I blinked my tears away. He was probably right. Whatever Kronos had done to Luke, I couldn't fix it. And they would launch their attack on camp any time now.

'I know. I'm …' I took a deep breath. Luke's face flickered in front of me one last time. 'I'm all right.' I let Percy pull me to my feet.

'Back to New York,' he said, trying but failing to sound upbeat. 'Rachel, can you—'

We rounded a corner and Percy stopped dead.

A red Rasta cap lay in the mud, looking like an army had thundered across it.

Percy picked it up with trembling fingers. The cap was dripping wet. In the mud next to it were giant footprints and a set of cloven hoof marks, both pointing towards a fork on our left.

Percy voiced what I was thinking: 'We have to follow them. They went that way.' He bent to examine the mud tracks. 'It must have been recently.'

Nico looked at him like he'd suggested resurrecting Minos. 'What about Camp Half-Blood? There's no time.'

I took the cap from Percy. After what we'd just seen, I couldn't stand to give up on Grover and Tyson, too. 'We have to find them. They're our friends.'

The passage we followed was harder to navigate than any of the others we'd come through so far. The ground was so slick, we kept falling over and catching ourselves on the slimy walls. A chalky smell permeated the moist air, wound through with the scent of moss and lichen. It was vaguely familiar, bringing up images of a jaw-like cave entrance. For some reason, a brilliant blue peacock strutted across my mental image. At one point, the tunnel descended so sharply that we ended up sliding down a steep slope into another craggy cave. The stalagmites here rose like columns all the way to the ceiling. Water trickled through the marshy ground, a narrow underground river that cut across the centre of the cave. It separated us from a pair of crystal columns, twin guardians flanking a sparkling doorway.

'Tyson!' Percy cried.

He was holding Grover by the bank of the river. My initial surge of relief at seeing them alive was overshadowed by alarm when I saw how still Grover was.

Tyson looked up. His eye widened with relief. 'Percy! Come quick!'

Grover's lips were tinged blue. His skin felt like ice. Every so often, a violent tremor would seize his entire body.

'What happened?' Percy demanded.

Tyson shook his head, like he didn't know where to begin. 'So many things.' He recounted briefly the terrors they'd seen, the paths they'd taken leading into this cavern. 'Grover was excited. He ran. Then we reached this room, and he fell. Like this.'

Percy frowned. 'Did he say anything?'

'He said, "We're close."' Tyson looked sadly at Grover, who had gone still again. 'Then he hit his head on rocks.'

Alarmed, we crouched beside Grover. Percy shook his shoulders. 'Grover, wake up!'

Grover gave a soft, laborious moan. I scooped a handful of water from the river and poured it over his face. It did the trick. Grover spluttered and came to.

'Percy? Annabeth?' His head jerked up, then fell back like the motion made him dizzy. 'Where …'

'It's okay,' Percy said kindly. 'You passed out. The presence was too much for you.'

I glanced at the doorway with the crystal columns and a shiver ran through me. Not a bad one, like near Mount Othrys, but the prickling sensation of something ancient and powerful. I think we all felt it, even Rachel. She hugged herself and stared at the doorway in wonder.

'I—I remember,' Grover muttered. 'Pan.'

 _The lost one._ Grover had been right about what it meant all along.

Percy helped Grover up, then seemed to remember Rachel and Nico standing awkwardly to the side, watching our reunion.

'Er, guys, this is Rachel. Rachel, this is my brother Tyson, and our friend Grover.'

'The Cyclops,' Rachel said faintly. 'And the satyr.'

Tyson smiled shyly at her. 'You are pretty.'

I scowled. He'd said the same thing to me on our first meeting. Did Rachel have to steal _all_ my friends?

'And Nico, you remember Grover,' Percy continued quickly. 'This is Tyson. Tyson, Nico.'

Nico nodded wordlessly.

'Anyway, come on, Grover. Lean on me.' Percy lifted one of Grover's arms around his shoulder. I took the other. Together, we stepped into the frigid river. It was waist-deep, with an insistent undertow that lessened once Percy got in. He must have exerted some control over the water.

As we approached the crystal door, something about the glittering stalactites and the towering stalagmites snagged in my head. I recognised that chalky smell now, threaded through with moss and lichen.

'I think we're in Carlsbad Caverns.' I hadn't entered when Clarisse's mom had brought me by, and even if I had, I got the sense that we were the first humans ever to explore this particular section. But it all seemed to fit. Percy had told me about Grover passing out and going weird during their quest in December. He'd been coming back to New Mexico all year in search of that trail. 'That would explain last winter.'

We stepped through the door. Rachel gasped. 'Oh wow.'

The cavern seemed entirely constructed from crystals. They glittered every colour of the rainbow, like light bursting from a prism. The whole place was an enormous garden, with flowers I'd never seen before, exotic blooms that I didn't think were native to New Mexico. I didn't even think they existed anywhere else in the world.

It was warm in here, with a light tropical breeze rustling the plant vines. I had the same feeling I'd gotten that time I'd worn the Golden Fleece: a nature magic so strong it could heal the worst of injuries. But this was more than that. The freezing water evaporated, leaving me dry and toasty. My cares lifted from my shoulders. The terrible things I'd seen in the Labyrinth seemed to fade. I even forgot momentarily Luke's awful fate.

Animals gathered at the centre of the crystal cavern, animals that, like the plants, no longer existed in the outside world. In the midst of them, lying on a chaise lounge that was half-bed, half-throne … there he was.

'Lord Pan!' Grover dropped to his knees in ecstatic reverence. I fell automatically to mine as well. Tyson, Nico, and Rachel followed my lead. Percy was the last to kneel. He seemed completely dazed.

The others remained fixated on Pan, but I couldn't take my eyes off the wondrous cavern. The crystal walls arched overhead into a perfect dome, recreating a glittering, starry sky underground. Every crystal gleamed in perfect synchrony. The dark moss made a natural carpet over the ground. Even Pan's bed, crafted from gilded wood that looked like it had grown out of the earth, was a natural altar to fit its occupant. It was like an ancient temple, one that had been created organically, without a single contribution from man. This was beyond any organic architecture I'd seen and admired. Its beauty took my breath away. Its function stirred my heart.

Pan smiled at me when I marvelled at all of it. He was a satyr like Grover, but so much older—older even than the Cloven Elders, who must have been around for centuries. He had the largest horns I'd ever seen on a satyr, curling impressively over his snow-white head.

'I'm glad you like it, my dear. It is one of the last wild places. My realm above is gone, I'm afraid.'

One of the animals, a dodo bird, came to him and rested her head against his shoulders, humming softly. Pan patted her fondly. 'Only pockets remain. Tiny pieces of life. This one shall stay undisturbed … for a little longer.'

'My lord.' Grover begged Pan to return with us. 'You can save the wild!'

Pan touched Grover's head as though delivering a blessing. His fingers barely moved, but Grover's hair ruffled like a breeze was whistling through it. 'You are so young, Grover. So good and true. I think I chose well.'

'Chose? I—I don't understand.'

'I have slept many aeons,' Pan said. He talked about his dreams as if he were a demigod plagued with nightmares. 'Each time my waking is shorter. Now we are near the end.'

Grover blinked rapidly. 'What? But no! You're right here!'

'My dear satyr, I tried to tell the world two thousand years ago. I announced it to Lysas, a satyr very much like you. He lived in Ephesos, and he tried to spread the word.'

I repeated the lines of the story, the one that had passed down from generation to generation. Two thousand years ago … Was that when Pan had started to fade? When humans had started killing off the wild?

'But that wasn't true!' Grover protested.

'Your kind never believed it. You sweet, stubborn satyrs refused to accept my passing.' He smiled at Grover. It was a sad, tired smile, like the passage of a thousand years had weighed it down. I knew before he spoke what his next words would be. Although his power filled the cavern, his form was insubstantial, as smoky as the ghosts we'd summoned at our séance on the ranch.

It was Grover's turn to lose a hero.

For the first time since we'd entered the tunnel, Nico spoke. 'He's dying. He should have died long ago. This …' We watched Pan's form waver in and out of being for a second. 'This is more like a memory.'

'But gods can't die,' Grover insisted.

'They can fade when everything they stood for is gone,' Pan said.

I thought of Briares, losing his brothers. How painful it must be, losing pieces of yourself, but being unable to let go until your followers released you. Pan repeated the lines of the old story—' _Tell them that the great god Pan is dead._ ' He begged Grover to take it back to the Council of Cloven Elders, to all the satyrs, the nature spirits, everyone who still waited for him to save them.

Pan wasn't coming. There would be no saviour. We had only ourselves to depend on.

'Be strong. You have found me. And now …' Pan's words took on a formal weight, like he was laying a charge upon us. 'You must release me. You must carry on my spirit. It can no longer be carried by a god. It must be taken up by all of you.'

He had a gift for each of us. To Percy, he promised courage. To Tyson, heroism. To Rachel, the chance to make amends, to be as important as her father. And to me …

'Daughter of Athena, your time is coming.' His words were almost tangible, like a cloak enveloping me with its mantle. 'You will play a great role,' he promised, 'though it may not be the role you imagined.'

The promise clung to my skin. What did he mean, a great role? My dagger tingled in its sheath, like an accusation. I wasn't ready for more terrible choices. Wasn't this quest proof of that? Every time I let myself believe I could prevail, I screwed up.

Pan's eyes drifted over Nico, but he didn't address him directly. He returned to Grover, who looked more terrified than he had all those times he'd feared he would fail in his search.

'My dear satyr, will you carry my message?'

Grover wrung his hands. 'I—I can't.'

'You can. You are the strongest and bravest. Your heart is true. You have believed in me more than anyone ever has, which is why you must bring the message, and why you must be the first to release me.'

'I don't want to,' Grover pleaded.

Pan didn't force the point. He explained softly, kindly, the origin and evolution of his name, and how his mantle must be passed on. He was waiting, I realised, for Grover to see the truth for himself.

I saw why he had waited thousands of years for someone like Grover. Pan had an incredibly difficult task to pass on. He needed someone with enough heart and enough faith to undertake it. And when he found him … this mantle could not be forced. It had to be taken up willingly.

It took Grover some time to internalise this. When he did, he rose, denial giving way to acceptance. 'I—I've spent my whole life looking for you,' he whispered. 'Now … I release you.'

Pan's smile was like the flicker of a candle before it fades into the wind. He breathed a final blessing, and it was like his essence flowed out in that last breath. Smoke rippled through the room, smelling of sage and cedar. Little tendrils of it crept into each of us, even Rachel, the mortal, and Nico, who had not received a specific charge. It filled me like a breath of spring air, a rush of energy, a fountain of hope and courage.

The crystal cavern dimmed slowly, now that the source that powered it had died. The lights, the animals, the flowers—they all shrivelled to ash.

The beautiful temple of Pan was no more. We were left in a dark, empty cave.

Grover reached out to take his cap from my hands. He set it on his head like a crown. Maybe it was just me, but his horns looked thicker and longer now, more like Pan's.

We didn't speak much on the way out of Carlsbad Caverns. Rachel found us a different way out of the cave, but it was so narrow that we had to crawl through it single file. Up ahead, I heard Percy asking Rachel about something. She replied in monosyllabic answers, just like when I'd pumped her about her family. After a while, he gave up.

The tunnels back to New York were devoid of threats or traps. Maybe with Minos gone and Luke's army headed for camp, no one was left in it to stall us. Or maybe Daedalus was helping in some small way, making the Labyrinth friendlier, more accommodating.

Along the way, we filled each other in on everything that had happened since we'd split up. Grover and Tyson related their adventures in the tunnel of roots: they'd survived a duel with some of Luke's men, a wrestle with a giant snake, and a cave-in. Nico told us how Minos had led him to Kelli and the Laistrygonians. Percy and I would have preferred to leave out the Mount St Helens fiasco, but of course, Grover and Tyson asked about it. We recounted our adventure in the volcano with the briefest of details. Rachel raised her eyebrows. Percy had skipped this part of the story when we recruited her.

Tyson was distraught when he heard about the telkhines, which he professed were Cyclopes' natural enemies. He was even sadder that Percy and I had gotten caught in a volcano without him to help. He gave me such a fierce hug, I forgave him on the spot for calling Rachel pretty.

Percy's ears went red when he mentioned getting marooned on a desert island. He also studiously avoided looking at Grover when he spoke. If I'd had any doubts about _which_ phantom island it had been, they were definitely gone now.

Grover smiled knowingly. I would have given a million Ariadne's strings to know just what he was sensing over their empathy link.

We told them about the arena, and Daedalus's workshop, and the fortress on Mount Othrys. Percy looked very carefully away from me when he mentioned Kronos rising from the sarcophagus in Luke's body.

'There was something weird about that guy,' Nico said. 'I sensed … something from the Underworld.'

'He's not dead,' I said, more harshly than I intended. 'Just because you sense dead people all the time.'

Nico shrank back at my tone. Percy opened his mouth, presumably to object.

'Don't even start,' I snapped.

'I was just going to say I'm sorry about him.'

'Well, don't,' I said. 'Because he's not gone. He's still in there.'

'Seriously, you two,' Grover said. 'Knock it off.'

I sighed and turned to Nico. 'Sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you. And—thank you. We should have said that earlier. If you hadn't done that trick with the rocks … we'd be dead. We're going to need your powers when we get to camp.'

'Yeah.' Percy backed me up quickly. 'I should have said that, too.'

Nico turned red and stared at his feet. I had a sudden vision of myself behaving the same way a few years ago whenever Luke threw a compliment my way. I was beginning to have more than a sneaking suspicion about the kid's feelings.

We emerged from the Labyrinth entrance in the Marriott Marquis. The sunlight was practically blinding after our long underground trek. Percy ushered us into a deserted alley, where he proceeded to summon a flock of camp pegasi. It was a good sign that they responded to his call. If the Titans' attack was already underway, they'd never have made it to us. I guess Nico's little stunt had incapacitated Luke—I couldn't call him Kronos—more than we'd expected. Though it was probably too much to hope that the decimated palace would put a halt to all their attack plans.

As I saddled my pegasi, I became very aware that Percy was saying goodbye to Rachel. Snatches of their conversation drifted my way—'Pan … I'm sorry … you were so brave …'

I looked determinedly away. We'd be flying into battle within the hour. This was no time for distractions.

'… call me …'

'… I'd like that …'

My pegasus stamped his foot in annoyance. I'd done the stirrups up too tight.

A nervous whinny caught my attention. I turned gratefully to the problem. Nico's pegasus was shivering every time he touched it. Tyson used to have similar issues with them, until he learnt to soften them up with a lump of sugar. He'd managed to scrounge up a sugar cube from somewhere to make nice with his current pegasus.

I hurried over and placed a soothing hand on the neck of Nico's pegasus. He calmed slightly, but jittered away when Nico tried to mount him.

Nico pouted and stalked away. 'Go without me! I don't want to go back to that camp anyway.'

Percy came back to us. He and Rachel had finally finished their goodbyes. She'd already disappeared down the street.

'Nico, we need your help,' Percy said.

'Nico, please.' I touched his shoulder. Nico tensed, but didn't pull away. After a few seconds, he relented.

'All right, for _you._ But I'm not staying.'

Okay, he definitely had a crush on me. I wasn't sure how I should feel about that, but if it got the kid to Camp Half-Blood, I was fine with it for now.

Percy gave me an incredulous look. I made a face in return. Let him see that _some_ boys thought I was cool. He sighed and started convincing Nico's pegasus to carry him.

Soon, we were airborne once more, and rushing towards an imminent battle.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

 **A/N** : I haven't much to say this week, except thank you to all of you who stopped by last week! **thatoneguy, ArtimuosJackson, OverLordRevan, Thunderwolf7226, Hello, Can't-Even-Right-Now, JustADerangedFanGirl,** and **MariaClaire** , thanks so much for sharing your thoughts as you read the chapter! And hope this one continues to please ... :)


	26. I Get A New Laptop

**A/N** : This chapter is rated PG-13/T because hello battle scene!

Chapter 26: I Get A New Laptop

We got back in time to man our battle stations.

Chiron and the others had stepped up their game. I guess the last scorpion attack had spurred them into action. The fortifications around the Labyrinth entrance were heavier than ever. Beckendorf had outdone himself with the machinery. Traps of bronze and steel surrounded every inch of Zeus's Fist, ready to take out the first wave of monsters to emerge. Jake Mason and Nyssa Barrera each had half a dozen missile launchers set up in the tree line. Beckendorf himself was loading and priming a pair of massive catapults. His other siblings had formed a human chain to supply them with ammo.

Clarisse's cabin was ready for the second wave. She stood at their head like a drill sergeant, barking commands and marching orders. When we arrived, their shields were interlocked in the phalanx formation. Lee's archers perched in the trees, ready with their bows and a wide selection of arrows: barbed, flaming, you name it.

Everyone had stepped into the roles we'd assigned at the start of summer. Will Solace manned the medic station, with his siblings to help inventory the nectar and ambrosia. Silena patrolled the camp borders on her pegasus while the new kids, Mitchell and Lacy, dashed around cleaning up trip hazards. Castor and Pollux kept our little army hydrated, while Katie and the Demeter kids had turned the guard tent into a rest station, growing mossy pillows and leafy blankets out of the ground so the campers could sleep in shifts. I didn't see Travis and Connor, but they were probably scouting the perimeter to booby-trap any weak spots.

Malcolm confirmed this when I found him at the command tent. In my absence, he'd taken charge of strategic operations. Argus stood guard at the entrance, under Athena's banner. Inside, maps were spread over every table, the same ones we'd pored over at the start of summer, but also new ones that had been updated with the location of our defensive lines and each cabin's battle position. One was set up like a board game, with little chess pieces representing our forces.

I scanned the board quickly. 'There.' I pointed to the line of a natural ditch. 'It's a good defensive trap in theory, but Luke knows this area. He'll be prepared for it.' I moved several of the chess pieces around. 'We need to redeploy some of our forces to guard the natural landforms. We can't depend on them to trip Luke up, no matter how we've disguised them.'

Malcolm scratched his head sheepishly. 'I guess I missed that. Sorry.'

I shook my head. 'No, you've done a great job. It's just—'

I thought of the waves of monsters packing Antaeus's stadium, of the seemingly endless battalion that kept coming after us in the Labyrinth.

Kronos, with his evil blade and all of Luke's knowledge and skill at his disposal.

'You did a good job,' I repeated. 'I'm sorry I wasn't here.' _I'm sorry I failed._

We went over the rest of the plans together, sending our younger siblings out as runners to inform the others whenever we made a tactical change. The sun sank steadily lower, casting longer shadows on the canvas of our tent.

At last, they came.

It started as a tremor, the faint rumble of the ground beneath us. Then it grew into a full-blown earthquake, as if hundreds of troops were marching underneath—which they probably were. The tables shook. Our chess pieces toppled.

'Let's go,' I said.

The first wave was formed entirely of Laistrygonians, an explosion of giants that shattered Zeus's Fist. The first giant was shot down immediately by a volley of arrows from the Apollo kids, but it had torn the Labyrinth entrance open like a seam. The next dozen came charging out easily.

Malcolm and I drew our swords. 'For Athena!' I yelled, and we rushed forward at the head of our cabin.

I heard Clarisse screaming a battle cry, Beckendorf shouting to launch the catapults, Lee ordering his archers to fire. We held back the first wave, just barely. But as I'd expected, there was a second, and a third, and a fourth. Hellhounds and _dracaenae_ and giants and _cynocephali_ —I soon lost track of just how many monsters poured from the massive fissure in the ground. Worse still were the dozens of demigod warriors who clambered out in full battle armour, adding to Kronos's already-swelled ranks.

I thought I knew what battle was. I'd faced down dozens of skeleton warriors in the palace of Hades. I'd sailed through the raging inferno of Scylla and Charybdis. I'd duelled an _empousa_ and a horde of monsters in Daedalus's workshop. This was beyond all of that combined.

It was a bloodbath.

Giants crushed our defensive lines, sweeping away the traps we'd painstakingly set. Fires raged along the tree line, sending archers plummeting to the ground. Dryads streamed from their trees, their heads ablaze. Lion-headed giants roared after shrieking satyrs. I saw bodies trampled in the dirt—some of Luke's, but more of ours. They were slowly whittling down our numbers. And still more enemies climbed out of the ground.

It would have been a total massacre if it hadn't been for Percy and Nico. The latter raised an entire army of zombie warriors, forming a barrier between a horde of _dracaenae_ and the main camp. I saw him collapse soon after. Percy summoned a tsunami of water to douse the forest fire, freeing up trapped archers and smoking dryads to return to the fight. For a moment, we seemed to draw even.

And then she roared out of the boulders, shooting like a firework into the crimson sky. With a triumphant screech, Kampê landed on our command tent. Her poisonous scimitars slashed through Athena's banner, which sizzled up on contact. Every beastly head on her belt turned in the direction of the main camp.

No one else was free to engage her. I stabbed my sword into the _dracaenae_ I was fighting. I didn't even pause to watch the snake woman disintegrate as I ran for Kampê.

Someone sprinted out from my left. Percy was running full-tilt at Kampê, too, his sword drawn. Here we were again, him and me, charging side by side into battle. Just like in New Jersey, in the Underworld, on Mount Tam, in the Labyrinth … all those times we'd thought might be the end.

It struck me that this could be it, this time.

'Could be,' Percy agreed.

'Nice fighting with you, Seaweed Brain.' The words seemed too simple to encompass the complexity of our friendship, yet somehow, they did.

'Ditto,' he said, and we fell into our familiar fighting pattern.

It was like battling a hydra on a fog bank. Kampê was impossible to distract; each one of her animal heads was capable of snapping at us independently. Her swords were swinging guillotines that issued a blinding cloud of acid with every hit.

'We need help!' Percy gasped.

'There isn't any!' I ducked a vicious slash from Kampê's blade.

Three arrows shot in quick succession into Kampê's chest—Chiron! She howled and arched back, enraged, though by no means defeated. But Chiron had given us an opening.

'Now!'

We surged forward before Kampê could recover, aiming for her chest. We made it under the reach of her scimitars, smacked away two roaring beast heads, and delivered a forward thrust—

A third head sprang from her waist, fangs bared. Percy slashed at it moments before they could sink into my side. I dragged him back, out of its snarling reach.

Something that felt like a tree trunk smashed me flat. My vision exploded into a canvas of stars. When it cleared, all I could see was a forest of hissing vines, swarming around the massive, scaly leg pinning me down. Percy was wedged under me, gasping for breath.

Our eyes met. They were the last thing I'd ever see.

Or not. A ferocious howl rang through the air. The poison-green scimitar flashed inches from our faces. Kampê flew off us as something big, black, and hairy barrelled into her.

'Good girl!'

Percy and I scrambled to our feet. Mrs O'Leary was chewing off Kampê's belt of heads while she screeched and wailed in disgust.

'Daedalus!'

The inventor was slashing his way to us from the Labyrinth entrance, a stream of monsters falling in the wake of his gleaming sword. And behind him, a hundred hands bearing a mountain of rocks, was—

'Briares!'

I could see why Tyson idolised the guy now. The Hekatonkheire rose to his full height—maybe not as tall as the sky, but clearing the treetops for sure—and launched his centuplicate offensive. Boulders sailed towards Kampê, a wall of rock that buried his old prison guard completely. Mrs O'Leary bounded back to us, angling for a reward. Tyson flung her a _dracaenae_ , which she snapped up like a dog biscuit.

Luke's army was starting to panic. Briare's arrival had turned the tide. As he reloaded for another rock assault, a dozen enemy demigods turned tail and ran.

A _dracaenae_ leapt between them and the Labyrinth entrance, promising retribution from Kronos should they flee.

'Yes!' bellowed a giant. 'Stand and fight!'

His club came smashing down. To my horror, Chiron's back legs buckled as it connected. For a second, I saw the centaur in Antaeus's arena and the smear of blood it had left on the dirt floor.

'Chiron!' I screamed. I dodged strikes and teeth and claws, determined to get to him before the remaining giants closed in. A _cynocephalus_ tripped me up. I rolled and came up swinging my dagger in its slavering face. I'd just stabbed it into monster dust when I heard the sound.

A loud wail cut across the clearing—no, that didn't even begin to describe what this sound was. It was a foghorn, an air raid siren, the loudest noise you could imagine magnified ten thousand times. It was accompanied by screams of unmitigated terror. The very sound made me want to curl up and clutch at my head in fear.

It was pandemonium—literally. The cry of panic, Pan's cry, echoed through the woods. It struck terror straight into the hearts of the Titan army. They cut and ran, driven by a fear greater than that of Kronos's retribution.

And it was Grover producing it. _Our_ Grover, whom I'd had to reassure of his bravery so many times over the years. He stood in the centre of the clearing, issuing Pan's power, sending the monsters fleeing back into the Labyrinth. Grover, Pan's chosen one.

Only when the last monster had disappeared and the Labyrinth entrance slid shut did Grover close his mouth. A hush fell over the woods. In the aftermath of Grover's cry, my ears felt like they'd been hollowed out. Dazed, I picked myself off the ground, trying to remember what I'd been doing.

Chiron.

Percy grabbed my arm. Together, we sprinted to him. He was alive, thank the gods, sprawled on his side with his back legs bent at a painful angle. They were broken, a fact that he seemed to find acutely embarrassing.

'You need help,' I told him. 'I'll get a medic from Apollo's cabin.'

I looked around. The med tent had been trampled in the attack, but the combat medics were rushing around, tending to the wounded on the battlefield.

Chiron waved me away. 'There are more serious injuries to attend to.'

He was right. Injured campers were scattered left and right, bleeding and groaning, or worse still, not moving at all. Tyson beckoned us over to the west edge of the clearing, where Nico lay in a ring of withered grass, his clothes smoking.

Percy felt for his heartbeat. 'Get some nectar!'

Someone tossed a canteen over. We gave him a few sips and he spluttered back to life.

Percy leaned back on the balls of his feet, looking relieved. 'What happened? Can you talk?'

'Never—tried to summon—so many,' Nico mumbled.

Will Solace came running over, but Nico insisted he was fine. We waved Will on to the other wounded.

'Daedalus,' Nico whispered suddenly.

Percy and I turned our heads. Daedalus was making his way over to us, dabbing at the scratches on his skin with an oilcloth. His blood ran gold, like machine oil. He nodded to Nico.

'Yes, my boy, I made a very bad mistake.' He held Nico's gaze for a long moment. 'I came to correct it.'

Briares followed him over. He'd shrunk back to normal size, though a powerful aura still radiated around him. This was probably enhanced by the gaggle of impressed nymphs, satyrs, and even several of the youngest campers, who started demanding autographs. Daedalus explained how he'd found Briares in the maze. They'd come together to atone for their previous bad choices.

Tyson could barely contain his excitement. He was about to ask Briares to autograph his shirt—possibly with several hands at once—but Briares stopped him short. ' _You_ are the hero,' he insisted, and held out a boulder for Tyson to sign instead. I thought the big guy might just combust from pride.

'I knew that a long time ago,' Percy said proudly. 'But,' he addressed Daedalus, 'the Titan army is still down there.'

I listened with a sinking heart. The monsters might have run, but they were still alive. Kronos would lead them back eventually, string or no string. As long as the Labyrinth entrance remained, the camp would always be in danger.

'You are right,' Daedalus said heavily. 'As long as the Labyrinth is here, your enemies can use it. Which is why the Labyrinth cannot continue.'

'But you said the Labyrinth is tied to your life force!' I pointed out. It was why our efforts to destroy it had never worked. 'As long as you're alive—'

Daedalus's gaze was solemn. 'Yes, my young architect. When I die, the Labyrinth will die as well.'

It hit me then what he meant—what he intended to do.

 _The child of Athena's final stand._

There were so many ways that line of the prophecy could have played out over the course of my quest, but I knew this was finally it.

'And so, I have a present for you.' From his satchel, Daedalus drew out a silver laptop. It looked like a MacBook, except where the logo should have been, his mark—the blue _Delta_ —glowed. 'My work is there—it's all I managed to save from the fire.' He explained its contents: project notes, designs, secrets that he had harboured for the last millennium. 'Perhaps you will find them interesting.'

The laptop was light, no more than a few pounds, but it felt like a lead weight in my hands. 'You're giving me this? But this is priceless! This is worth … I don't even know how much!'

More than that—it was responsibility. Daedalus was passing on knowledge, invention … and the charge to use it wisely. More wisely than he had.

I knew now how Grover must have felt, receiving the blessing of Pan.

I blinked back tears as the inventor announced his intention to give up his spirit to the Underworld. After two thousand years evading its justice, he was going to face his demons.

'You won't get a fair trial,' I warned him. 'The spirit of Minos sits in judgement.'

He acknowledged the fact calmly. I could tell he'd already considered all this. Of course. He was a child of Athena, too. He wouldn't have decided without weighing the consequences.

He was ready.

It was me who wasn't.

Daedalus turned to Nico. 'Will you take my soul for ransom, then? You could use it to reclaim your sister.'

Nico gulped. Here was the goal he'd sought for months, the reason he'd entered the maze to begin with. But at last, he said, 'No. I will help you release your spirit. But Bianca has passed. She must stay where she is.'

Acceptance crept slowly across his face. Or maybe it had been there for a while already.

'Well said, son of Hades,' Daedalus agreed. 'You are becoming wise.'

He set his final affairs in order, extracting a promise from Percy to look after Mrs O'Leary. I guess we would never find out how the hellhound had found her master. Nevertheless, a spark of appreciation flared in me, the same one that had endeared Daedalus to me even as we fled, disillusioned, from his workshop. He really loved his dog.

Nico raised his sword. 'Your time is long since come,' he said. 'Be released and rest.'

We watched Daedalus fade, his automaton body going pale and translucent. For a second, I could see all its interior workings: the intricate mechanical wiring and bronze cylinders that had housed his _animus_. Then he dissolved into ash, which sank into the earth.

The ground trembled, just as it had before the Titan army's arrival. Its vibrations rippled outwards from the spot where Daedalus had disintegrated. The earth warped and buckled like a million earthworms were tunnelling just below, swallowing up the capillaries of the Labyrinth.

Its life force had been extinguished. _Destroy with a hero's final breath._

Was Daedalus a hero? After all the terrible things he'd done, the mistakes, the bad choices …

What made a hero, anyway?

Daedalus wasn't the perfect genius I'd made him out to be. Nor was he the villain I'd accused him of being. He'd been a coward, fleeing death for two thousand years. But in the end, he'd found the courage to come and help us. To make amends.

Turning back _after_ you'd made bad choices, admitting you were wrong, choosing to own up to your mistakes—maybe that took just as much courage as making the right one to start with. Maybe even more.

 _Did you think you would only have one choice to make?_

Maybe this was what it was all about. There wasn't just one choice that determined your fate, but a series of them.

I would have more to face. This quest was over. My prophecy was complete. But our war with the Titans was only just beginning.

 _You will play a great role, daughter of Athena._

Mrs O'Leary finally stopped howling. She sat up and licked my hand. I buried my face in the scruff of her neck.

Percy touched my shoulder. 'Come on, we have work to do.' He held out his hands, one to me and one to Nico.

We took them. Holding tight to Percy with one hand and clutching Daedalus's laptop like a talisman in my other, I returned with him and Nico to the rest of our friends.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

 **A/N:** As you may have guessed, I've been building up to two themes in this chapter throughout the fic—one on losing heroes, and the other on choices. I'm not quite done yet, but I just wanted to mention how important I feel these are to Annabeth in this book. A lot of you have mentioned how excited you've been to see Annabeth in _BotL_ especially, and I think it's for this very reason: this is the book where she really has to _grow_ as a character and person. There's still two chapters to go where there will be more on her development, but I felt like she's ready to reach that turning point in understanding what it means to choose and lead. I hope that came across. Let me know what you think!

Sorry again about delayed review responses. I've been busy preparing a job application this week, and this chapter is getting posted on the fly as I'm in London all weekend without the laptop (but yay for figuring out how to open desktop version on my phone rather than the default mobile version!) Thank you **Livvi May, 2na22, DreamCatcher06, ArtimuosJackson, Hello, thatoneguy,** and **JustADerangedFanGirl** for your comments last chapter!


	27. Grover Leads A Quiet Revolution

**A/N** : This chapter is rated PG-13/T for difficult decisions and death.

Chapter 27: Grover Leads A Quiet Revolution

The night following the Battle of the Labyrinth was very long.

After putting out the fires and carrying the wounded to the infirmary, we set about the unbearable task of attending to the remaining casualties: the heroes who hadn't survived. Hardly anyone spoke as we brought the fallen bodies of our friends to the amphitheatre to be wrapped in burial shrouds.

Almost every cabin had lost someone. The bodies stretched out in neat rows, filling the campfire pit. Each of the cabin counsellors stepped up in turn to deliver the eulogies for our fallen—Katie, Clarisse, me … all of us except Percy, the only one whose cabin hadn't suffered a casualty, and Lee, who was among the rows of enshrouded bodies. He'd saved a whole section of the woods, including a line of trees filled with his archers, by intercepting a club strike from a Laistrygonian. It had cost him his life. Michael Yew, his second-in-command, delivered his eulogy in a shaking voice.

Even more heartbreaking was Dionysus's son Pollux, whose voice failed him when he stood over his twin brother's shroud. He was the only remaining member of cabin twelve now.

Pollux took the torch from Chiron and set the funeral pyre ablaze. Apollo's archers followed up with a volley of flaming arrows that fanned the flames higher, waving our friends' spirits to the heavens.

At the start of the funeral, we had gathered by cabin, but as if by some unspoken agreement, we spread into mixed groups, finding comfort where we best could. I saw Katie take Pollux by the hand and lead him to the Demeter children. Silena made her way to Beckendorf, who put a trembling arm around her. Several Hermes kids came round to hug Michael Yew.

As for me, I found myself between Percy and Tyson. We didn't speak. I held Tyson's hand and lay my head against Percy's shoulder as we watched our friends' bodies burn slowly to ashes, consecrated in fire.

There were other bodies, too. I didn't know how many monsters we'd managed to kill—the spoils of war littered the woods, though no one had the heart to count them—but there were a dozen or so enemy half-bloods who had fallen on our territory. The question of whether to honour them was a touchy one.

'They killed my brother,' Pollux said, an ugly look on his usually agreeable face.

'We should still respect the dead,' I said.

Nico nodded. He was the only camper sitting alone, hiding in a shadowy corner as the funeral service went on. 'Annabeth is right. We can't leave them to rot. That isn't right.'

The other campers exchanged uneasy looks. Nico made them nervous, with his black sword and the aura of the Underworld hanging over him like a faint mist.

Surprisingly, Clarisse agreed. Maybe she was thinking of Chris, lying close to death in the Big House. 'No one's calling them heroes,' she said gruffly. 'Just—'

'We should take care of them, too,' Percy finished. 'If we don't, we're no better than Kronos.'

In the end, we found plain black shrouds for the enemy half-bloods. Nico did the honours, silently speeding their souls along to whatever justice they might face in the Underworld. I said a soft prayer for Daedalus, too. He'd left no body for us to burn, but I couldn't let him pass without some ceremony. I hoped he had found peace, and had met with a fair trial at the gates of Erebus after all.

The stars were finally fading into a pale dawn by the time the funeral fires burnt themselves out. Percy, Tyson, and I helped Chiron to the infirmary. He had refused to go until the funeral rites were complete. Will Solace, who was still heading up the medics, blanched when he saw Chiron's legs, now swollen and purple from internal bruising.

'I can set them,' he said, 'but I'm going to have to immobilise them for a while to let the fractures heal.'

Chiron sighed. 'It is lucky I have the wheelchair, then.' His tail flicked irritably, betraying his frustration.

I stayed to help Will treat Chiron. Percy and Tyson headed back outside. I saw them join Nico, heading back to the woods to help the satyrs and dryads in their clean-up efforts.

Will's eyes followed mine out of the infirmary window. 'Is that … the boy from last winter? The one who ran away?'

I nodded. 'Nico di Angelo.'

'He seems different,' Will mused.

'He's been through a lot.'

'There's something about him …'

I expected him to ask about Nico's parentage, but he just blushed and turned back to Chiron's leg.

I didn't see Percy again until noon, when the Council of Cloven Elders called an emergency meeting, no doubt to discuss the bombshell Grover had dropped on them about Pan. We returned to the glade in the woods for the hearing. This time, the clearing was packed. Every nature spirit at camp must have turned up. Even the naiads had left their lake. All of them were waiting with bated breath to hear Grover speak. This didn't seem to please Silenus, who called the council to order with a look of pure irritation on his puffy face.

'Grover Underwood,' he said nastily, 'you are three weeks overdue from your given deadline. You returned with the most blasphemous charges, spouting more of your preposterous lies—'

A month ago, Grover would have been quivering in his hooves at these accusations. Now, he merely stood quietly and listened, like the council's judgement didn't matter any more. It was like he and Silenus had switched places: Silenus fuming like a child having a tantrum, Grover waiting calmly for the outburst to pass.

'I call for exile!' Silenus cried. Grover's calm seemed only to have made him more incensed. 'For such egregious behaviour—'

'Silenus,' Chiron interrupted, 'perhaps we should listen to the evidence.' He gave me a significant look.

I quickly stepped forward into the circle of satyrs. 'Grover was telling the truth. I saw it. We all did—' I cast around for my friends to back me up. Tyson wasn't here; the satyrs wouldn't welcome a Cyclops in their clearing. Nico … I wasn't sure where he'd hidden himself.

Percy stepped up. 'I saw him, too. Pan, I mean. He really did tell Grover to let him go.'

I nodded. 'He said the wild must be saved by all of us. You can't wait for him any more.' I told them everything Pan had said in the crystal cavern.

'B-but you're saying the lost god spoke to _you,_ ' Leneus spluttered. 'And—to a Cyclops? That's—that's insane! Unimaginable!'

'It's true,' Percy insisted. 'And it was Grover who led us there. Grover never gave up looking, even when you threatened him and told him to stop. Pan was waiting for him all along. He appointed him to carry his message.'

'Master Underwood, the emissary of Pan?' Marion scorned.

'You heard him at the battle!' Juniper joined us in the circle. 'That cry. He chased all the monsters away.'

There were murmurs of agreement from the crowd. A few satyrs tried to describe the noise. One dryad even clamped her hands over her ears at the memory of it.

'It was panic,' Juniper said proudly. 'Grover summoned the power of the wild god.'

Chiron explained the origin of the word, from Pan's ancient battle cry in the first Titan war. Now it had served us again, and it was Grover who had unleashed it.

Grover, in whose soul the spirit of the wild now resided.

Silenus wouldn't listen. He cast around for any reason to explain Grover's power other than the simple truth. I realised he didn't _want_ to believe it. None of the older satyrs did. They kept grumbling while Grover tried to explain Pan's missive.

They were comfortable. Believing that Pan might one day return to save them relieved them of the responsibility to lift their own fat fingers to save the wild. If they accepted that Pan was gone, they would have to act.

'Who would believe this ridiculous young satyr anyway?' Silenus exclaimed.

Then someone unexpected spoke up for Grover—'I would.'

Mr D was back. In his stiffly-ironed black suit, he was more dapper than I'd ever seen him. His hair was actually combed and neatly parted. He could have been heading for a board meeting. Or possibly a funeral, from the look on his face. It was strange to think of Mr D grieving for anything (except maybe a lack of wine) but he was obviously stricken.

Of course. Castor was—had been—his son. The gods rarely showed affection, but I guess Mr D did care.

With a wave of his hands, Mr D created a fourth throne out of grapevines and sat heavily in it. The satyrs in the circle nearly fell over each other bowing and rushing to bring him food and drink. Mr D took a long sip of Diet Coke before he announced the terrible news: the minor gods had defected.

'Morpheus has gone over to the enemy. Hecate, Janus, and Nemesis, as well.'

 _Janus._ I shivered. When had he revolted? Had he already been a tool of the Titans when we'd met in the Labyrinth? I wanted to believe that his challenges, the choices he'd taunted me with, were nothing but a hoax of Kronos's. But with everything that had happened, there was a ring of truth to the gauntlet he'd thrown me.

'Now, I want to hear Grover's story,' Mr D said. 'Again, from the top.'

He silenced all protests with a thinly veiled threat and motioned for Grover to proceed.

Grover started from the beginning. He spoke solemnly but earnestly. I was struck by how mature he seemed. There was an almost reverent hush over the clearing as he told the story. He was definitely getting through to his peers. Many of the younger satyrs nodded in acceptance of Grover's mission. The nature spirits stared moony-eyed at him, drinking in his words.

But Silenus, Leneus, and Marion still held out stubbornly for exile. It seemed like their majority vote would still sway the council's decision, until Mr D played his god card. 'A god's vote counts twice,' he said, bringing them to a tie.

'The council cannot stand at an impasse!' Silenus protested.

Mr D's eyes flashed dangerously. 'Then let it be dissolved! I don't care.'

I didn't know why he was on Grover's side. Maybe he recognised the spirit of his fellow god speaking through Grover. Maybe he realised that the council was no longer effective. Maybe he was trying to tell us that we _all_ had to step up and make our own decisions.

We had to stop waiting for a hero to step in.

It was time to grow up.

Apollo cabin led the campfire singalong that night. It sounds cavalier, but after our day of tearful goodbyes, painful clean-up, and harsh truths, I understood. There had been enough death. Those of us left had to carry on living, even if it meant just going through the motions at first.

Halfway through _I Saw Three Triremes_ , Clarisse appeared at the amphitheatre, leading Chris Rodriguez by the hand. He looked too pale and too skinny, but for the first time all year, his eyes were lucid and clear.

Clarisse caught my eye and grinned broadly. She looked even happier than the time her dad had awarded her with her electric spear, Maimer. I tried to return her smile, but the muscles of my cheeks felt strained.

Clarisse had saved her oldest friend. I, on the other hand …

I tossed my marshmallow into the fire, no longer hungry. The flames were the colour of Luke's new eyes, hard gold and timeless, full of an ancient, evil force. I remembered the sluggish slowing of time on Mount Othrys, the overwhelming power radiating from Luke, the same way Grover had produced the power of Pan.

I took out my dagger and ran my thumb along the flat of the blade.

Was Percy right? Was Luke gone for good?

'What are you thinking about?' Percy appeared behind me. I hadn't even noticed him missing from the campfire.

I sheathed my dagger. 'Nothing.'

'Nico's gone,' he said after a moment.

'He is?'

'I followed him out into the woods. He was saying goodbye to Bianca.'

'Oh.' It seemed like forever since we'd summoned her. 'Is he okay?'

'I hope so. He wouldn't say. He said he didn't belong … there wasn't a cabin for Hades.'

My head turned automatically towards the green, where the twelve god cabins stood in the twilight. Hermes was the least eye-catching of the twelve, but it stood out to me now. All those demigods in Luke's army—were they all the unclaimed and abandoned?

'We need to do something about that,' I murmured. 'Kronos got to too many of them that way.'

'Like Ethan Nakamura. He's the son of Nemesis.'

Ethan was a claimed demigod, then … nevertheless, one who chafed at having nowhere he belonged. How many of the unclaimed were actually children of the gods whom we had never honoured here?

'About Kronos …' Percy hesitated, and I knew he was going to ask about Luke.

'Don't,' I said sharply. 'Please—let's not talk about it.'

'Annabeth …'

'Not now, okay?'

Percy sighed. Michael Yew started up a new song on his lyre. After a few stanzas, Percy got up and went over to Tyson, who was clapping along next to Beckendorf, Silena, and the Hephaestus cabin.

I caught sight of Mr D by the entrance of the amphitheatre. He was hovering a few inches above the ground, his arms crossed and the usual bored expression on his face. He hadn't changed out of his suit yet.

I left the campfire and approached him.

He surveyed me with displeasure. 'Amelia Cartwright.'

I ignored his mangling of my name and forged ahead. 'Sir, you're married to Ariadne, right?'

His annoyance turned to curiosity. 'Indeed.'

'Do you know if—do you think I could … speak to her?'

'Whatever for? You obviously don't need her string any more. The Labyrinth no longer exists.'

'It's not that. I just—I know about her brother. I wanted to know if she ever regretted it. Leading Theseus through the Labyrinth, I mean.'

Mr D stared at me. I thought he was going to tell me to go back to the campfire, but instead he said, 'Walk with me, Annabeth Chase.'

We started a slow circle around the amphitheatre. It was weird walking beside him. Unlike my mother, who'd walked me to her chariot at the start of summer, Mr D's feet never touched the ground.

'You know Theseus abandoned Ariadne on the island of Naxos after they fled from Crete,' Mr D said.

'Yes sir,' I began, but Mr D shot me a look. I shut my mouth.

'She was heartbroken when I found her. It was only a few centuries later that she admitted she was the one who … ah, what's the term you teenagers use these days? Broke up? No—she dumped him.'

'Because he killed her brother?'

'Because she chose him.'

Confused, I stopped walking. Mr D kept going. I had to run to catch up to him.

'She made a choice. Theseus would never have slain the Minotaur if she hadn't reminded her brother of who he used to be. It was a necessary decision—it freed his spirit. He'd been trapped in the Labyrinth as Minos's tool for too long. It was a fate worse than death. All the same, it was a long time before Ariadne forgave herself for choosing Theseus over her brother.' Mr D shrugged. 'Worked out for me.'

'So the Minotaur—the one Percy killed …'

'Is the original monster. But the _spirit_ of Asterion resides in the Underworld. I suppose so, anyway. Ariadne likes to think so, but I don't think she ever checked with my uncle Hades. I'm not sure she dares to. She might find out she never knew her brother as well as she likes to think she did.' He eyed me carefully. 'But that's not what you're asking, is it? You want to know what will become of that friend of yours. The boy whose body plays host to Lord Kronos.'

I inhaled sharply. 'Please.'

'It should not be possible,' Mr D admitted. 'A god in a mortal's body? He should have become a pile of ashes the moment Kronos attempted it. Like my poor mother, when she looked upon Zeus in his true form. But perhaps Kronos has given up some of his power, reduced himself to accommodate the weakness of a mortal body. At any rate, he has certainly achieved a material form.'

'So you're saying … Luke is gone.' I thought of his eyes, flickering blue after Rachel had thrown her hairbrush at him. Was that the last time I'd ever see him?

'Oh, Hades if I know,' Mr D said. 'You'll just have to decide for yourself.'

It wasn't really an answer. But if Mr D couldn't say with any certainty that Luke _wasn't_ still there, under everything, then I wouldn't given up hope that he was.

'Do you know what madness is, child?' Mr D asked.

I shook my head, nonplussed by the change in subject.

'It is a disconnection from who you really are. A loss of your true identity. Sometimes all it takes to reverse it is to find the thread that grounds your mortal soul. An object, a memory … even a person.'

We were back at the entrance to the amphitheatre. The campers were finishing up their last song, swaying in time to the music. I could see Clarisse sitting with Chris, their hands touching behind their backs.

'The mind is a convoluted maze. If you believe you can lead this lad out of his folly, good for you. But if I were you, I wouldn't go in without—well, a string. Otherwise you could very well lose yourself in the process. Do you know what anchors you?'

My eyes searched the crowd instinctively. They landed on the messy black head laughing with Tyson in the light of the fire.

'Think about that, Aurelia Carey,' Mr D said. He glided into the circle of campers and took a seat next to his son, Pollux, who was trying bravely to warble along with the others. And although they didn't touch or speak to each other, I thought they both looked comforted by the other's presence.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

 **A/N** : I have taken great liberty with the story of Ariadne, Theseus, and the Minotaur. There is little from the original myths about what sort of relationship Ariadne might have had with her family, or indeed her half-brother. In fact, timeline-wise, mythology isn't entirely consistent on when she might have been born within the whole saga, except that she obviously would have been in her teens when Theseus came along. The version I've chosen to tell here has obviously been embellished to correspond with the theme of this story. I hope it is still convincing, and has added to Annabeth's story, in particular the choices she had to make.

This is the penultimate chapter—I'm wrapping up this fic next week with the final chapter. It's amazing how fast this has gone! And I'm going to try my best to have the next fic ready for you the week right after.

Thank you **Hello, CQ816, DreamCatcher06, thatoneguy, Thunderwolf7226,** **OverLordRevan, Numberfivewithabullet, and Livvi May** for stopping by this past week! I think I got to review replies this time ... hopefully I haven't missed anyone out, but if I have, sorry, and please know that I do appreciate your comments greatly; it's just that between getting them in my email inbox and finding a spare moment to log in to the site, I miss stuff. Loads of stuff. *sheepish look*


	28. I Burn One Last Shroud

**A/N** : Apologies to those of you who read the previous chapter when the italics formatting had gone wonky and retained half the html coding. I generally strip them before popping it into the post box, but sometimes they come back if I accidentally hit enter or space at the end. :( It's been fixed now, and thank you to those of you who pointed it out!

Chapter 28: I Burn One Last Shroud

The last threads of summer unravelled quickly. The Labyrinth had stolen June from me, and now the Fates seemed to yank July and August from under my feet as well. In the past, this part of summer had always been the best, with our quests complete and nothing to worry about except how I would win capture the flag. But this year, we stood on a precipice, teetering on the edge of an impending war.

Chiron was adamant that everything go back to normal. 'You will need it,' he assured us. 'This may be our last summer before …'

I didn't want to think about the end of that sentence. We had won the Battle of the Labyrinth, but it was too much to hope that the Titan army had been routed for good. They would return eventually, and this time … this time Kronos would be with them.

 _Luke._

Percy tried to catch my eye. I looked away.

On the fourth of July, the Hephaestus cabin prepared their usual fireworks display. Percy, Grover, Tyson, and I spread out a massive blanket on the beach to watch the brilliant pyrotechnics together. Grover talked about the projects he was setting up with the other satyrs. He would head off soon to lead a conservation march in Massachusetts.

'There's this company, see, Dare Enterprises.' He held up a glossy flyer with an embossed green logo, _DE_ , stamped over a picture of a building development block. 'It wants to tear down the wildlife refuge and build a strip mall. But if we get enough protestors to march against them—'

'Wait, Dare Enterprises?' I said. The name rang a bell. 'Like …'

Percy shook his head at me, and immediately, I knew exactly why it sounded familiar.

'Like _Rachel_ Dare?'

Tyson's jaw fell open. 'The pretty girl is destroying the forest?'

'No!' Percy said sharply. 'Her dad's a land developer, okay? She told me, after Pan—you know.'

'So she's rich.' It was finally starting to make sense, how she'd managed to snag us that fancy car on short notice. A land developer big enough to buy off a wildlife refuge and raise a strip mall over it. Styx, she had to be more than rich. She had to be loaded.

Something sour exploded in the pit of my stomach. All that stuff Rachel had said about her parents not caring, or the fundraising for art schools she'd been doing—was that just a lie? Not that it mattered. It wasn't like she was my friend or anything.

'It's not her fault,' Percy said defensively. My disillusionment immediately curdled into annoyance.

'You knew, and you didn't tell us.'

'Does it matter? She can't help what her dad does. It's like Chiron and how he can't help that his dad is Kronos.'

'Except Chiron stood up to Kronos! He fought him! And he just got his legs _broken_ fighting with us last week, remember?'

'It's not the same. Kronos is evil—'

Grover gulped. 'Guys, can we stop saying the Lord of Time's name out loud?'

'Fine, Luke, then,' Percy snapped. 'Luke is evil. I notice you don't spend a lot of time attacking _him._ '

My skin turned to ice. 'Luke isn't Kronos.'

'Wake up, Annabeth. He gave himself to Kronos. And he made all those choices himself. Kronos didn't force him to do it.'

'Percy …' Grover whined.

'That's—that's not—' I thought of Luke, standing on my doorstep, pleading. _He'll use me._ None of it was as simple as Percy suggested.

'He didn't force Luke to steal the lightning bolt two years ago. He didn't force Luke to poison Thalia's tree. He didn't force Luke to trick you—'

'He did it to save my life!'

'And he didn't force Luke to give him his body either! When are you going to stop standing up for that jerk?'

'Maybe when you stop attacking him!'

Percy's eyes flashed coldly. 'In case you didn't realise, he's been trying to kill us for the last two years. And now he's got an actual Titan living in his body. Even if there was any good in him, it's gone now.'

My fist was flying before I even thought about it. But it wasn't Percy that my right hook connected with. Tyson had stepped between us. My hand slammed into his rock-solid arm. I heard the crack of my knuckles fracturing before I felt the sharp burst of pain.

'Sorry!' Tyson looked horrified. 'Annabeth, are you okay?'

I cradled my injured hand and gritted my teeth. 'I'm fine.'

'No, you're not.' Percy reached for me, but I pulled away. The fireworks were no longer popping. Every camper within a twenty-foot radius was staring at us.

'Oookay,' Grover said. 'Lets, um, break this up. Annabeth, let's go to the infirmary.'

I let Grover guide me away. As we left the beach, the other campers crowded around Percy, demanding to know why he'd said those things about Luke. By the end of the night, everyone would know what had happened on Mount Othrys.

My heart stung worse than my hand.

Clarisse jogged up next to us. 'Want me to pulverise him?' she offered.

I sighed and shook my head. 'Go back to Chris. I'm sorry we messed up the fireworks.'

'Are you kidding? Best fireworks ever!' She grinned and took off back to the beach.

Grover rolled his eyes. 'Annabeth, you know Percy's just worried about you, right?'

'Yeah, that's why he keeps making me want to knock his lights out.'

'He's …' Grover sighed and shook his head. 'It's not really my place to say. But it bothers him, the way you're so hung up on Luke.'

'I'm not—'

'I may not have an empathy link with you, but I'm a satyr. I can still sense emotions. I know you feel guilty. And I know you're scared that Percy—'

I glared at him. 'Butt out of my feelings, Goat Boy.'

Grover held up his hands. 'Fine. Just—promise me you'll talk to Percy.'

But I couldn't do it. When I saw him the next day, he didn't mention our altercation, and I was too relieved for the bit of normalcy in our interaction. Then someone came by and asked about Luke, and I couldn't look at Percy for the rest of the afternoon.

We went back and forth like this all summer—everything would seem fine, then someone would mention Kronos and a tight, sick knot would form in the pit of my stomach. Then we'd avoid each other for the rest of the day and I'd become so jittery, it felt like my insides would fly apart any second.

Each day I thought, _Tomorrow I'll talk to him. Tomorrow I'll explain and fix this._

But time played that nasty trick where you start off with loads of it before a deadline, and then it creeps up on you and shoves it in your face. Before I knew it, we were sitting at the final campfire, giving out the beads for the summer. All the counsellors had unanimously voted on a maze, memorialising the Battle of the Labyrinth.

It was my eighth bead. Some of the campers, especially the new ones like Mitchell and Lacy, stared in awe when I strung it on. Eight years. No one else even came close. Lee, if he'd survived, would have gotten his sixth, and he was eighteen. Had been eighteen.

My camp necklace was getting crowded, but I couldn't imagine removing anything. What would I possibly pick? Not this year's. Not my first, with Thalia's pine tree on it. Not the black bead with the sea-green trident—the bead of my first quest. Percy's bead.

Luke's last bead. I wondered if he still kept his necklace. Probably not. He'd forsworn everything about camp.

I dreamt of him that night. He stood in front of the black marble ruins at the top of Mount Othrys, the very palace that Nico had brought down when we ran from Luke into the across his back, forming a rigid line over his shoulder blades, was the long, wicked scythe with the curved, double-edged blade.

Monsters—telkhines, _dracaenae_ , giants—weaved among the broken stone, slowly piecing them back together. There weren't many of them, maybe only a few dozen out of the hundreds that had attacked us at Zeus's Fist. I hoped this was indeed all that was left of the Titan army after Daedalus had collapsed the Labyrinth on them.

'Sir!' A boy ran up the path, panting as if he'd sprinted all the way from the base of the mountain. It was Ethan Nakamura, the half-blood with the eye patch. He paused at the side of a stone basin, struggling to catch his breath.

'Nakamura.' Luke's voice sent shivers down my spine. It wasn't Kronos's voice exactly; it still sounded human, but it had an emotionless quality to it that scared me almost as much as if Kronos _had_ spoken through Luke.

Ethan straightened and saluted. He wasn't in uniform, or even Greek armour, but he still gave off the distinct aura of a soldier reporting for duty. 'Sir, the ship has arrived. We have retrieved the other half-bloods.'

'Good,' Luke said, still with his cold, dead voice. 'How many?'

Ethan gulped.

'How many?'

'Twenty.' Ethan shifted nervously from one foot to the other.

Luke turned back to the ruined palace. 'Twenty, of a strike force of fifty. A poor showing, indeed.'

'I—I am sorry, Master,' Ethan stammered. 'We will recruit more demigods to your—to our cause.'

'Yes. The country is full of jaded half-bloods, forsaken by the godly parents who abandoned them. Just like …' He looked down, contemplating his own body. 'We will find them. We will promise them their revenge. When the palace is rebuilt, we will gather our army here. My brothers will join us. Next summer, we will march. And you, Ethan Nakamura, son of Nemesis, will bring your brethren's revenge to Olympus.'

Ethan bowed low. 'Thank you, Master.'

'And this time …' Luke's face hardened. It was the mirror image to Percy's animosity whenever he talked about Luke. But there was something in the way Luke's eyes narrowed that chilled me to the bone. Even at his angriest, Percy couldn't even come close to this level of hatred.

I wasn't sure if it scared me more to think of this as Kronos taking over Luke, or the alternative: that Luke himself was capable of looking this cruel.

'This time, I will deal with the cursed son of Poseidon myself.' Luke ran a finger over the edge of his scythe, which shouldn't have been possible. Kronos's weapon was rumoured to have the power to separate a mortal soul from its body. Touching it should have torn him apart.

Unless his soul was already lost.

'Sir,' Ethan said tentatively, 'he wasn't alone in the Labyrinth. Percy Jackson, I mean. There was a girl from the camp, too. Annabeth Chase.'

Luke stared into the stone basin. It was ringed with the same black marble as the ruined palace. A pool of liquid the colour of Nico's Stygian blade swirled in it, so dark that I couldn't tell how deep the basin went. I'd seen this pool before. Luke had raised it last winter in this very spot, when he'd begged Thalia to summon the Ophiotaurus and sacrifice its entrails. It would have given them the power to bring down Olympus on the spot.

' _Please,_ ' he'd pleaded. ' _He'll use the other way if you don't._ '

Even then, he must have known. Luke had known what Kronos had in mind. When Thalia had failed him, he'd tried to run away, to come to me for help. And I'd refused.

Because of that decision, I'd lost—

My mind shut down the thought as quickly as it threatened to emerge.

There was a hazy image in the pool, but this time it wasn't the Ophiotaurus. There were two figures, the shadowy forms of two girls. It was the same vision I'd had at the start of summer, when I'd flown into the storms of Mount Tam: Thalia and I, standing at the edge of a cliff. This time, I saw it from the reverse perspective, looking up the cliff face. Luke's perspective, watching us reach for him, to pull him back to safety.

Only we hadn't. Both of us had let him down.

Luke's face was inscrutable. He lost the hard expression; his eyes wavered. His hand came up across his chest, clutching at his shoulder as if it pained him. I waited to see the flash of blue in his eyes, like when Rachel had hit him in the head. I thought for sure he would break through.

But his mouth curled at the edges, cruel as the scythe over his shoulder, and he said, 'We will crush the girl as well. Every ally of the gods, every stone of Olympus. We will bring it down—brick by brick.'

The water in the basin swirled, washing away the images in it so thoroughly, they might have never been there. Luke looked straight at me with eyes like molten gold. I saw him, and I didn't. There was nothing of him left.

I woke with my cheeks wet. For the rest of the night, I lay awake with my bronze dagger in my hands. Its harsh, golden glow sickened me, yet I was unable to tear my eyes from it.

In the morning, I switched on my cell phone and found a voice message alert blinking at me on the screen. It was from my dad. He had bad news and good news: San Francisco had been put under an aviation ban until the storms cleared, so he couldn't fly out to collect me just yet. But for the school year, Janet had enrolled me in a good private school just outside the city. I guess she still hoped I could excel academically. Frankly, I couldn't think of anything less important just now.

When I went to tell Chiron about my change in plans, I found Percy there, making arrangements for Mrs O'Leary. His bags were already packed, sitting on the front steps.

'Thanks, Chiron—Tyson and I will visit in turns over the year,' he said.

'I'll look after her this week,' I offered.

They both looked up, surprised. 'Annabeth, my dear, aren't you going home?' Chiron asked.

I explained about the aviation ban. 'It's a good thing. I can help you until your legs are okay again. And there's lots of stuff in Daedalus's laptop I wanted to run by you.' I'd been cataloguing it all summer. Among other things, he'd come up with twenty-three defensive plans for various cities across the country.

Chiron nodded. 'I'd better go leave a note for the cleaning harpies, then.'

He wheeled off, leaving Percy and me alone on the porch.

'So … you're not riding into Manhattan after all.' Disappointment was evident in Percy's tone. It made my insides go into their jittery, ready-to-fly-apart dance again.

'I'll walk you to the hill.' The conversation I'd been putting off all summer— _tomorrow I'll talk to him_ —pounded inside my throat. This was the last tomorrow, at least for a year.

We started off discussing the school year as we climbed to the top of Half-Blood Hill. It should have been a neutral topic, only nothing between us seemed like it would ever be neutral again. Percy was going to the school he'd blown up last summer after all. Chiron had manipulated the Mist to work in favour of his innocence.

'… and I guess Rachel must have helped.'

My stomach gave a sharp twist. I'd forgotten Rachel Dare went to that school, too. Everything I was working myself up to say to Percy went flying out of my head.

'What about you?' Percy asked.

'What?'

A shadow of annoyance passed over his face. 'School. You're going back to San Francisco?'

'Oh. Yeah.' I told him about the private school Janet had found for me. I was feeling less enthusiastic about it by the second. I'd be all the way across the country while Percy went to school with _Rachel._ And the thought of spending the school year in the shadow of Mount Othrys made my stomach churn, too.

We reached the top of the hill. Down on the farm road, Argus was loading bags into the camp van.

'Well, call me, okay?' Percy said.

'Sure,' I said. My mind was still on Mount Othrys and the black palace being reconstructed at its peak. 'I'll keep my eyes open for …'

 _He_ hung in the space between us, bending time so that every second dragged. I could almost sense our recurrent fight about to start up again.

I felt like crying. Last year, everything had been so simple. We'd laughed and joked and fought over stupid things that didn't matter. When had it all become so ridiculously complicated?

'Annabeth, Percy said slowly, 'what was the rest of the prophecy?'

Of all the things he had to ask me about. I'd avoided thinking about my prophecy since we'd left Mount Othrys, but it wasn't exactly something I could forget. I could almost see it curling like smoke over the tree line of the woods—the final line, the one I'd never told the others.

' _You shall delve in the darkness of the endless maze._ ' Somehow, he'd memorised the lines perfectly. He rattled off the others, ticking each one off with his interpretation. _The dead, the traitor, the lost one_ —Bianca, Ethan, and Pan. _The ghost king,_ Nico. And Daedalus, _the child of Athena._

'Percy—' Fear and panic clawed at my throat. I couldn't do this. I couldn't say it and make it real.

Except it was. It had happened just as the prophecy had foretold.

Percy kept pushing. 'What was the last—?'

' _And lose a love to worse than death,_ ' I blurted out. It was out there now, a bomb that had detonated a month ago, but whose shock was only now rippling through me. 'That was the last line, Percy. Are you happy now?'

Percy had been right all along. Luke was gone. I'd lost him.

'Oh.' Percy's tone was flat. It reminded me of Luke's emotionless voice in my dream. I saw again the horrible hatred in Luke's face when he'd spoken of Percy. If I looked up and saw that anger mirrored in Percy's eyes … I would break. I knew I would.

'So Luke—' His voice cracked.

I risked a glance at his face. He wasn't angry, or even bitter. The expression he wore … it made me think of standing at his funeral pyre in June, believing _he_ was the one I'd lost.

'Percy …' I moistened my lips. 'I didn't know who the prophecy was talking about. I—I didn't know if …' I had no words for how I'd felt in the heart of Mount St Helens, when I'd kissed him and lost him so soon after.

That stupid prophecy. _And lose a love_ —what was that even supposed to mean? With Luke … Luke and me … what _was_ Luke to me, anyway? I struggled for words. 'For years, he was the only one who really cared about me. I thought …'

I thought he was my family. I thought he'd always look after me.

Was that love?

Maybe it was. But as I thought of Luke's new hard eyes and cold voice, I was keenly aware that Luke had already been gone for a while. For the last two years, the person who'd been there for me was the one standing before me now, looking like I'd just stabbed him in the gut.

'I'm sorry,' I started to say, but before I could form the words, the air between us parted in a golden shimmer. Out of nowhere stepped a glowing goddess in a snow-white dress. She was even brighter than she had been in the Labyrinth, as if she had recharged her own internal light source.

'You have nothing to apologise for,' she said blithely.

'Hera.' My hands clenched into fists at my sides. The last time I'd seen her, she'd convinced me that my prophecy referred to Percy. She'd let me believe he was dead.

'You found the answer, as I knew you would.' Hera's smile was as bright as her being, and just as fake. 'Your quest was a success.'

'A _success?_ ' Exactly what was Hera judging it by? After all the losses we'd sustained—Pan, Daedalus … _Luke._ 'How is that—'

Hera clucked impatiently, like I was being a silly girl. 'Our family is safe. Those others are better gone, my dear.'

I dug my nails sharply into the skin of my palm. The callousness of her words contrasted sharply with her next ones: 'I am proud of you.' They were as empty as an echoing wind.

'You're the one who paid Geryon to let us through the ranch, weren't you?' Percy accused.

Hera acknowledged it casually. It was obviously no big deal to her. As if the favours she bestowed on _us_ were the only things that mattered, and if she'd passed over other demigods and let them perish in the meantime, who cared? They didn't belong in her perfect little world.

Percy made a noise of disgust in the back of his throat. 'Hephaestus was right. You only care about your perfect family, not real people.'

'Watch yourself, son of Poseidon,' Hera snapped. 'I guided you more than you know in the maze.' She listed all the times she'd intervened, so many more than I could have guessed. She'd been interfering in my quest all along … maybe even before it had officially begun. That enormous stash of money that Argus had given me at the start of summer, that had sped Percy and me back to camp after his orientation fiasco. Hera had told me Percy had the answer to navigate the maze. Could _she_ have orchestrated Percy and Rachel's meeting?

I should have known better than to accept her offer. _Gifts are meant to come at a price._ It had been Hera herself who'd said it, the very first time I'd met her on Olympus. Of course she wouldn't have given me a wish for free.

'Annabeth, my dear.' Hera's voice turned syrupy sweet. 'Surely you see how I've helped. I would welcome a sacrifice for my efforts.'

My mouth was full of bile. Hera made out like she'd been helping us, when really, she'd marched us through the maze like her personal chess pieces. She'd toyed with my feelings and wrung out my heart repeatedly. And all for what? To stall the Titans? To keep their attention off Olympus? How much of the fall-out of my quest was she responsible for?

I pressed my lips together. A few years ago, I might have played it safe, stayed respectful. Maybe it was Percy's usual defiance rubbing off on me, but I was in no mood to play nice now. And Percy was giving me an odd look, somewhere between awe and respect. It bolstered my courage.

'Percy is right,' I said tightly. _Our family is safe,_ she'd said. She wanted to talk about who belonged in her family? Well, I sure as Hades didn't want her in _mine._ ' _You're_ the one who doesn't belong, Queen Hera.'

Her eyes glowed with anger, but I forged ahead. I wasn't going to be her pawn again. 'So next time, thanks … but no thanks.'

And then I did what was either the bravest or the stupidest thing possible. I turned my back on the queen of heaven.

The air trembled behind me. 'You will regret this insult, Annabeth,' Hera warned. 'You will regret this very much.'

I waited for a bolt to strike me down, or for my body to incinerate, but all that happened was a blast of heat that radiated from behind my back. It dissipated as suddenly as it had burst out. When I turned around, Hera was gone.

I looked at Percy, who seemed shell-shocked. He probably expected me to be turned into an Annabeth-shaped pile of ashes, too. The anger that had buoyed me up against Hera fizzled out. I tried to recollect my thoughts, to return to what I'd wanted to tell him before, but Hera had thrown me off completely.

'I'm sorry. I should get back. I—I'll keep in touch.'

Percy caught my arm. 'Listen, Annabeth—'

My heart leapt. We stared at each other. I felt like I was back on this same hill eight years ago, watching Thalia die. I wanted Percy to step into the hole in my heart and promise me I still had someone left. I wanted him to do what Luke had.

But the moment vanished into a loud honk from the road. Tyson stuck his head out of the camp van and beckoned for Percy to hurry.

'You'd better get going,' I said, my throat tight. 'Take care, Seaweed Brain.'

And I turned away before he could see my tears fall. All the way back to the cabins, I didn't dare look back. But I hoped with all my heart that he would call after me.

He didn't. When I finally turned around, the only one left on the hill was Peleus, lounging in the shadow of the pine tree.

I entered my cabin with a heavy heart. To my surprise, it wasn't empty. Someone was sitting at the desk in the back, in front of my laptop. Someone with long, dark hair in a neat braid down her back, and a stiff, regal posture.

'Mom?'

She was dressed casually, as she had been at the start of summer—white blouse and grey slacks, brown loafers. She turned and stood when I addressed her.

'He was always full of ideas,' she said, waving her hand at Daedalus's laptop. 'A pity his pride got the better of him several times. I had to punish him quite severely one time when it got out of hand.'

'I saw,' I said faintly, remembering the brand on Daedalus's shoulder.

'But he did the right thing in the end. You convinced him of that.'

'It was too late. He'd already given Luke the string. We couldn't stop the invasion. Luke—'

'Made some terrible choices.'

'I didn't want to believe Percy when he said Luke was gone. I didn't want my prophecy to mean …'

Athena's eyes were sympathetic. 'You did not want to admit you had been wrong about your hero. It is not easy when our idols turn out to have clay feet. In truth, it is often worse to lose the idea of them than to lose them to death.'

My skin tingled. 'Then my prophecy …'

'Tell me, Annabeth, what did you and your friends find in the Labyrinth?'

'I—' We had set out with a single goal in mind—to find Daedalus—but along the way, we'd found so many things, all of them unexpected. All of them painful. Nico had found Bianca, only to say goodbye. Tyson had found Briares, who had run away. Grover had found Pan, but had to let him go. Percy had found an incredible power within him, and almost destroyed himself with it. I had found Daedalus … only to discover he wasn't the saviour I needed.

And we had found Luke …

'The truth,' I said hoarsely. 'We all found the truth.'

'Yes. The truth … it is a delicate thing, but it is necessary to face it in order to gain wisdom. Can you accept the truth about Luke as well?'

I knew she didn't just mean what I had seen on Mount Othrys. My fingers played across the beads on my necklace, cataloguing each one. They marked eight years at camp, but also the eight years I'd known Luke. The year he'd poisoned Thalia's tree. The year he'd failed his quest. The year he'd found me.

'Do you know why I guided you to Luke and Thalia, Annabeth?'

'Because I needed help.'

'Yes, but that wasn't the only reason. Remember the Cyclops's mansion in Brooklyn. You were the one who saw clearly through the monster's wiles.'

'I—' She was right, of course, but my memory of the fight felt so different. I remembered Thalia breaking free of her bonds and attacking with all her thunderous fury. I remembered Luke taking my hand, not letting go until we were miles away from the mansion. I remembered how terrified I'd been, alone in the dark.

But I'd also taken my dagger, my new gift from Luke, and plunged it into the Cyclops's foot.

'Luke was never your hero, child. You were always your own. And I didn't lead you to them just to save you.'

'You sent me to save them,' I whispered.

'Do you understand?'

'I—I think I do.'

'Good.' She slid her hand into the pocket of her slacks. 'One more thing.' She brought out a silver key hanging on a thin chain and looped it around my neck, where it settled next to my camp necklace. 'For your fifteenth birthday. I am sorry I did not return in time for it.'

I held it out in front of me to get a better look. It was a skeleton key, the kind that might fit into an old-fashioned lever lock. The ring at its bow was shaped like an owl. 'What is it for?'

'Keys unlock many things,' Athena said. 'Doors, codes, secrets … I am afraid that this one will only work once. Use it well.'

'But—how will I know when?'

'When the right time comes, you will know.' The contours of her form flickered. She touched the crown of my head, a benediction. 'Remember, my daughter, you are your own hero. Believe in yourself.'

The next moment, she was gone, leaving only a light breeze ruffling through my hair.

I sat there for a while, staring at Daedalus's laptop. Then I laid my dagger on the desk. Its bronze glow complemented the luminescence of the blue _Delta_. A real, monster-slaying weapon for the bravest and quickest of fighters. From the moment Luke had laid it in my hands with the promise of an enduring family, I'd worshipped him.

He'd been my hero when we travelled the East Coast, running from monsters. When he carried me away from Thalia into the safety of camp, cursing the gods with every step. Even when he returned from his quest, bitter and angry from failure, I'd closed my eyes to his distress. I'd wanted to believe in the dashing hero who had promised to always take care of me.

 _Luke was never your hero._

After a while, I got up and went to the art and crafts cabin. I sat at the loom and started to weave. Some external force took control of my fingers, picking the colours, the pattern. When I was done, the shroud was a braided blue, green, and grey, the colour of three prophetic threads I had once seen entwined. At the centre, I'd embroidered my bronze dagger.

I took it to the amphitheatre where we'd burnt the other funeral shrouds a month ago. The coal pit was still warm from yesterday's campfire. I stoked it up and fed the shroud to it slowly.

A man with two faces was silhouetted in the flames: Janus's outline, but with Luke's faces. The left was handsome, confident, a perfect hero. The right was scarred and bitter, contorted with anger and marred by hatred.

Neither was real.

I'd never find the left Luke, the one I'd adored, because he didn't actually exist. The right one was a distortion of a man who wasn't perfect, but wasn't evil to the core either.

The real Luke lay somewhere in between. And if there was a chance that he could still turn back, as Daedalus had … if there was a chance that his soul could still be redeemed, maybe I could find him. But to do that, I first had to accept that the hero of my childhood had never really existed. That all those times I'd looked up to him, I hadn't understood who he was. I had to see him— _really_ see him, and not my ideal of him.

 _And lose a love … to worse than death._

In the end, the truth I'd avoided all summer didn't hurt as much as I'd feared it would.

The last remnants of my tricolour shroud curled into smoke, rising towards the sky. And then it was gone, fading into the bright afternoon sky. It took with it the weight that had been pressing down on me all summer, leaving me with a sense of calm.

I knew the battles were only just beginning. Kronos had promised to renew his attack next summer. Pan had laid upon me a great charge. Hera and Janus had both promised me a crucial choice in my future. I thought of forks and crossroads and side tunnels in an impossible maze. Of a desperate plea on my front step in San Francisco. Of an adrenaline-fuelled kiss and a locked door in the heart of a volcano.

I saw once again Janus's nightmare: the blades that hung over Percy and Luke, a choice between one or the other. I gripped my dagger tightly. It no longer felt like a curse, but a talisman.

 _You are your own hero._

Next time, when the choice came round, I'd find a way to save them both.

THE END

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

 **A/N** : This chapter took more time to draft than 5 other ones, possibly because it needed a lot of careful set up as well as closure. I also had to think a lot about whether the events of _The Bronze Dragon_ did indeed fit this timeline. My conclusion based on theme and interactions within _BotL_ was that the short story did not sensibly occur within the months between the Labyrinth quest and the end of summer. Particularly, it did not fit well with Percy's description of he and Annabeth dancing around each other. I have thus elected to situate those events at another time point, although this ostensibly contradicts certain details of Beckendorf's age and his relationship with Silena (however, those don't actually add up with _BotL_ and _TLO_ in the first place). I don't imagine this is of the utmost importance or a deal-breaker for anyone reading this fic, but I thought I'd explain my decision anyway.

But yes … here we are at the end of yet another long project, and coming in to the very final DoW 'book'! I must once again thank all of you, my faithful readers, for following me this far and encouraging me to keep going. I am incredibly flattered by your enthusiasm and love for this series, and it has motivated me to continue right to the end. It's now been nearly three years since I started this project—nearly as long as my PhD studies, incidentally. Annabeth and you guys have carried me through these times and I am so grateful to have this little corner to go to when I need an escape from 'hard writing'. Thank you for being here with your cheerleading and your character discussions and hard plot questions!

Annabeth's story will carry on in one last fic, _The Final Sacrifice_ , and I will start posting that shortly. In it, I really hope to tie together all the themes and development I've been working on in the past four books and bring this to a close as _Annabeth's_ story and not just Annabeth's view of Percy's story. I'm very encouraged by those of you who have indicated that I'm on the right track there. I can only hope the conclusion will live up to expectations.

Thank you again for reading. See you next week to begin the last book!


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